An Aptitude for Gratitude
Notes
Transcript
Introduction
Introduction
On September 9th, 1860, most people expected articles of Abraham Lincoln and Stephen A. Douglas
Instead, they saw the Lady Elgin
A few weeks ago, we went to Lake Michigan
Great Lakes are huge - the ocean, right?
Tash still thinks its the ocean
Cover Cuba, Dom. Rep., Haiti, Bahamas and Jamaica, still fit Hawaii and Mass.
You could dump the water out and cover the US in 1 foot of water
Coastline would stretch you from here to the west coast - OF AUSTRALIA!
It is as dangerous as the sea when winds kick up
The bottoms are littered with shipwrecks
Steam ships were proud to be on time
Lady Elgin was struck by lumber schooner “Augusta”
Storm was so violent, Augusta didn’t know they collided
Poked a hole in the steam ship and kept going
People on the Lady Elgin knew...
The engine fell through the hull - leaving engine sized hole
Ship went straight down in minutes
Captain ordered crew with axes to cut lumber and throw suitcases to float
Edward Spencer (Theology at Northwestern) saw debris - it was bodies
Strong swimmer from Mississippi river
Saved 1 = exhausted
Saved 4 = tied a rope to pull him in
Smacked in the face by debris, they pulled him but he threw the rope off
Saved 15 = sat down - saw 2 more
After 6 hours, saved 17, 287 were lost
Ended up eking out a living as a fruit farmer in Burbank
Did damage to his legs and quit school
His most vivid memory:
“Of the sixteen or seventeen I saved, not one of them returned to thank me.”
After 80 something years of life, he remembers not hearing “thank you”
YouVersion: Attitude of Gratitude
In Luke 17:11-13
1800+ years before Edward Spencer, Jesus was in a similar situation
Some guys make the same mistake as the people on the Lady Elgin
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.”
There is a lot we can take from this:
It took leprosy for them to call on Jesus
They had to lose everything: leprosy is a brutal disease
You would wake up one day with a sore (actually flesh eating bacteria - Hanson’s)
You would then go to the priest who followed the guidelines in Leviticus 13
If it wasn’t obviously leprosy, you would be isolated for seven days and checked again
Guess what happened if it didn’t go away? You were a LEPER.
I can’t stress enough that lepers lost it all
GIVE WARNING AND SHOW LEPER PICTURES
MEDICALLY:
Skin lesions
Nerve damage
Muscle weakness
Secondary infections cause tissue damage/cartilage becomes absorbed deforming hands and feet
Chronic congestion, nosebleeds and the collapse of the septum
Glaucoma which leads to blindness
Kidney failure
FUNCTIONALLY:
Cannot feel pain
Lose the use of hands and feet
Lose eyesight
Even erectile dysfunction and infertility
SOCIALLY:
Bacterial infection requires antibiotics, without them, only method to prevent spread is QUARANTINE
Our favorite!!
No walled cities (leper colony)
No human contact (15 feet away - we complain about 6 feet)
Had to shout “unclean!”
That’s why they’re standing afar off from Jesus
Undesirable appearance
Imagine you are one of these people
Years without touching your wife/husband, your kids
Cannot use your hands or feet
Losing your eyesight
Rejected by society
You can’t even breathe well
What would you probably think about more than anything else? How to stop it!
Jesus at least healed one leper already in Luke 5
13 And Jesus stretched out his hand and touched him, saying, “I will; be clean.” And immediately the leprosy left him. 14 And he charged him to tell no one, but “go and show yourself to the priest, and make an offering for your cleansing, as Moses commanded, for a proof to them.” 15 But now even more the report about him went abroad, and great crowds gathered to hear him and to be healed of their infirmities.
Do you think these ten heard about that?
Do you think they’re about as desperate as it gets to see Jesus?!
Here’s my question to you “What will it take for you to call on Jesus?”
1.) Don’t wait until you’re desperate before you call out to God
1.) Don’t wait until you’re desperate before you call out to God
Seriously, ask yourself and answer that question
I try to rely on myself all the time, and I end up in a pit of stress and failure
Then I call out “Jesus, master, have mercy on me!” (Maybe not exactly like that)
Why do I let it get that far?
14 When he saw them he said to them, “Go and show yourselves to the priests.” And as they went they were cleansed.
Now the lepers are told to go be seen by the priest and they were cleansed
ILLUSTRATE THE STORY – Wouldn’t you love to be a fly on the wall?
There are moments in Scripture I’d like to see
Parting the Red Sea
The sundial turning back
This is a moment I’d like to see
Jesus didn’t heal then send, he sent then healed
They start walking as lepers, and end up healed!
What was their walk like?
How did the priest react?
Then ten guys were no longer a part of the colony (or maybe they were the entire colony!)
Understand: leprosy is a life sentence – you don’t come back
MAIN POINT: Jesus is asking them to step out in faith
2.) God often asks us to step out in faith BEFORE He blesses us
2.) God often asks us to step out in faith BEFORE He blesses us
When David slew Goliath, he wouldn’t know victory until he set his foot on the battlefield
When Joshua took Jericho, they had to march around the city seven times before the walls fell
Abraham had to leave his homeland and wait to have a child with an old lady before he made a nation
Now Jesus says “You want to be healed? Start walking.”
After looking at the life of Abraham I’d bet God waited to heal those guys
They’re probably wondering what’s taking so long
Stealing 3rd at the Angels game (time slows down)
Maybe the lepers starting stalling
Or maybe it’s just the opposite – maybe they started running at full speed
Either way, they were cleansed
And when this was said and done, here’s what happened
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.
I would say this is an appropriate response!
This guy just changed your life!
ILLUSTRATE THE STORY – This guy’s life was changed in every way!
Nobody ever sees you again! And then your life is given back
You can have a real life!
Notice this last little remark: Now he was a Samaritan… More on that in a minute
17 Then Jesus answered, “Were not ten cleansed? Where are the nine?
First, I always say Jesus has a sense of humor
When Jesus walks on water in Mark 6: - “He would have passed them by.”
Now He’s like, “where’s the other guys? I coulda’ swore I healed nine of you…”
When I get to heaven I’m sure Jesus will be super sarcastic about my whole life…!
Clearly this has struck a chord with Jesus –
Just like Edward Spencer noticed no one thanked him, Jesus notices nine don’t thank Him
He even goes anti-PC with verse 18:
18 Was no one found to return and give praise to God except this foreigner?”
Wow, He said it!
BACKGROUND ON SAMARITANS:
Jews hated Samaritans!
In some ways it goes back to the foundation of Israel (which was the name given to Jacob)
Jacob’s sons founded the tribes that would make Israel a nation (Benjamin, Levi, Dan, Judah, etc.)
Together, they hated Jacob’s favorite son, Joseph who could be a little snooty
Joseph’s sons were Ephraim and Manasseh, whose land became known as Samaria
Eventually, Israel the nation would be established by Moses as a people, and Joshua as a land
After a while, Israel split into the northern kingdom while the southern became Judah
Judah’s capital was Jerusalem, Israel’s capital was Samaria
Both sides eventually went into captivity and Samaria was filled by foreigners and their gods
70 years later, 43,000 were allowed to return and rebuild Jerusalem
Guess who didn’t like that idea? The people that lived in the other capital! The Samaritans!
This created a bad taste in both their mouths.
Samaritans knew of God because they lived in His land, but they were polluted
And they tried to stop the rebuilding of Israel/Judah as a nation
To Jews, Samaritans were second rate humans
ILLUSTRATION: This is a pattern for Israel
In 135, Jews no longer had independence and scattered across the globe
They became a nation again in 1948 and guess who didn’t like them?
The Palestinians – the people that filled their land while they were gone
Muslims, or people that know God but have polluted His teachings
What kind of relationship do they have today? Not a very good one.
It was the same for Samaritans back then
-Samaritans are the Palestinians in Israel
-The African-American at the Klan rally
-The Trump supporter at the Biden convention
And Jesus calls him out:
18 Was no one found to return and give praise to God except this foreigner?”
The fact is, nine of ten guys who should have been thankful didn’t show up
The one who you most expected to not show up was the only one who did
3.) Serve to please God because the gratitude of man is fleeting
3.) Serve to please God because the gratitude of man is fleeting
ILLUSTRATION: Nothing makes me angrier than not giving “the wave” of thanks. (Javier response)
There’s one more thing we need to learn here:
Let’s be real, all of these men are grateful
If you had leprosy you can’t help but be grateful
ILLUSTRATION: Expected to be gone, suddenly you’re at the grocery store, PTA meeting, church
Is it humanly possible for them to be entitled to this?!
No, but we can learn a very important lesson about gratitude
4.) When it comes to gratitude, it’s more important to have an aptitude than just an attitude
4.) When it comes to gratitude, it’s more important to have an aptitude than just an attitude
ATTITUDE – Way of thinking
APTITUDE – An ability to do it
I imagine that Jesus’ heart is broken, maybe He’s choking back tears as He says this:
19 And he said to him, “Rise and go your way; your faith has made you well.”
ILLUSTRATE THE STORY: Christ has made him WELL!
No contact with people for years
Closing
Closing
It’s easy to not be grateful
What’s the opposite of gratefulness?
I’d say its forgetfulness...
In 1923, a massive earthquake and fire destroyed 75% of Tokyo
7,000,000 people fell into suffering
300,000 people died, 2,500,000 people became homeless
The the United States stepped in
Raised $10,000,000 ($150,000,000+ today)
Sent ships of volunteers, medical supplies, clothing and food
Japan wrote this for the international news service
JAPAN WILL NEVER FORGET!
18 years later, Japanese planes bombed Pearl Harbor and killed 2,400 men - wounding 1,000
Thrust US into WWII
It seems like Japan had forgotten the mercy of the US
This isn’t a Japanese problem, it’s a PEOPLE problem!
All of us tend to think of things in the now
What have you done for me lately?
Yeah, you gave us aid 18 years ago...
But what about all of the trade embargoes?
What about you funding our enemies?
That’s what we do with God...
Yeah you helped me when I was struggling with alcohol...
But what about losing my job?
What about COVID?
That’s why we have to make an effort to remain thankful
This week is as good a week as any
This week as we have thanksgiving, let’s remember what God has done!