Thank You

Welcome

Thank you so much for joining us today. Perhaps you are at home with family or listening to our podcast, we are so glad that you are here.

Thanksgiving

We are in the holiday season. A time of family, reflection, celebration, preparation, and perspective. In spite of our challenges, we have so much to be thankful for; God has been good to us and He is not done. We are not done. We give God praise for who He is, not where we are. He is worthy!!!

Scripture

Luke 17:11–19 NLT

11 As Jesus continued on toward Jerusalem, he reached the border between Galilee and Samaria. 12 As he entered a village there, ten men with leprosy stood at a distance, 13 crying out, “Jesus, Master, have mercy on us!” 14 He looked at them and said, “Go show yourselves to the priests.” And as they went, they were cleansed of their leprosy. 15 One of them, when he saw that he was healed, came back to Jesus, shouting, “Praise God!” 16 He fell to the ground at Jesus’ feet, thanking him for what he had done. This man was a Samaritan. 17 Jesus asked, “Didn’t I heal ten men? Where are the other nine? 18 Has no one returned to give glory to God except this foreigner?” 19 And Jesus said to the man, “Stand up and go. Your faith has healed you.”

Prayer

Lord you are so good to us, we are thankful. I ask that you speak to us today. Challenge us. Encourage us. Give us open eyes, ears, and hearts. In the name of Jesus, amen!

Illustration

I am a words of affirmation guy. I love to give it and at some level receive it. Not meaningless or patronizing or even to hype someone up. I just want to ensure that people feel appreciated and valued.

If you hold the door open for me, I say thank you

Hold the elevator, good looking out

If you let me merge in front of you, I always give a wave

I want to ensure that extraordinary things don’t become ordinary. Dreams become indifferent which evolves into inconvenient.

Homes

cars

relationships

work

I want to ensure that I don’t allow my gratitude to become circumstantial. It should be a part of who we are, not what we have.

We treat our blessings common

Transition

1 Thessalonians 5:18 NLT

18 Be thankful in all circumstances, for this is God’s will for you who belong to Christ Jesus.

Definition

This sounds completely impossible. I mean, be thankful in ALL circumstances?!? I want to make a distinction. It says for us to be thankful “IN” all circumstances, not “FOR” all circumstances.

Let’s look a little closer at the word.

To be thankful comes from the Greek word eucharisteo. It means to give thanks. To express gratitude or appreciation. The root word is chairo. It means rejoice, be glad. It is connected to grace, joy, and gift.

The text is saying in every circumstance there is the gift of grace so we can have joy, rejoice and give thanks.

We are thankful IN everything, not FOR everything

1 Corinthians 10:13 CSB

No temptation has come upon you except what is common to humanity. But God is faithful; he will not allow you to be tempted beyond what you are able, but with the temptation he will also provide the way out so that you may be able to bear it.

Paul had perspective because he was in prison and he gave God praise and it resulted in things being shaken and it led to his freedom. We are no thankful FOR the struggle, we are thankful IN it because it may led to freedom.

2 Corinthians 4:15 NLT

15 All of this is for your benefit. And as God’s grace reaches more and more people, there will be great thanksgiving, and God will receive more and more glory.

I believe gratitude is an attitude.

Thankfulness flows from what’s in our heart, not what’s in our hands

The Bible encourages us to keep a healthy perspective of the goodness of God.

Philippians 4:4 CSB

4 Rejoice in the Lord always. I will say it again: Rejoice!

Psalm 34:1 CSB

1 I will bless the Lord at all times; his praise will always be on my lips.

Gratitude and praise are not circumstantial, it is a posture; a lifestyle.

Observations

This passage brilliantly shows us a great deal about miracles, favor, grace, gratitude, and personal responsibility.

Stood at a Distance

We aren’t given any details on how long they were there but Jesus shows up and the text says, they stood at a distance. Have you every felt like you were in the middle of nowhere and

hope was in the distance?

Joy was in the distance.

Peace was in the distance.

Freedom was in the distance.

Healing was in the distance.

Recovery is in the distance.

Being debt free is in the distance.

Your dreams are in the distance.

Though they were standing in the distance, they lifted up their voice to close the gap. They knew who Jesus was. They knew what He could do. They called on Jesus.

Romans 10:13 CSB

13 For everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved.

When you don’t have the answers, call on Jesus. When you feel alone call on Jesus, a present help in a time of need. Hopeless, Jesus is the author and finisher of your faith. You may feel distant from God but God isn’t distant from you.

You could be one praise break away from your next miracle. However, it will require you to life up your voice and call on His name.

Points

Jesus tells them to “Go” and show themselves to the priests. This was a huge risk. If they entered community and weren’t healed, there could be harsh judgement. However, they likely built up enough faith and trust in Jesus so they took action.

While they were Going

They were cleansed…in going. Faith is a verb, it requires action. You have a part to play in the miracle you want to see. I remember teaching my daughter about motion sensors. I showed her, doors open when they detected our presence. Lights come on, when it detects our presence. We have to walk it out. We have to work it out. While they were going, they were cleansed.

Gratitude/Praise

10 healed, 1 returns. Jesus asks the question, where are the rest? Why did the 9 not return to express their gratitude?

This brings us to the crux of the matter. I think this reveals the tension of our two natures; one of total surrender, and the other, one of resistance. The battle between our flesh and spirit.

Entitlement vs Expectation

The text tells insinuates that 9 of these men were Jewish, 1 was Samaritan. There was tension with these two groups that would rival some of what we see today. (vax vs anti-vax, democrat vs republican) They had shared pain. Of the two, the Jews were chosen. They knew the Messiah was coming through their bloodline. They had a rich history of God showing up for them, even when the pain was self inflicted. So when Jesus shows up on the scene healing people, this wasn’t new. Perhaps they felt they deserved it; it was owed to them.

There is a vast difference between being expectant and just expecting it.

Being expectant is about posture, belief, and trust.

Expecting is leads to being entitled.

Few things put a lid on our gratitude and praise more then being entitled. We go from thankfulness, adoration, to it becoming the standard and eventually the standard becomes, common. Blasphemy is when we treat God as common.

An extraordinary God deserves extraordinary praise!

Procrastination vs Priority

Once these men recognized they were healed, they were likely so excited as now they could get back to their lives. They could be back with family. They could go back to the temple. This meant they could worship God there. They could do it later. How often do we put off God until later?

Procrastination is the embodiment of the lack of priority. We prioritize what is important.

Don’t hit the snooze button with gratitude.

Don’t budget encouragement

Instead of making excuses, the man made an exception. He prioritized showing gratitude to God.

Delayed obedience is disobedience

Delayed gratitude is ingratitude

Preference vs Posture

The man fell facedown at His feet, with a loud voice, gave glory to God, thanking Jesus. That must have been a seen. It must have been load. However, this man reconciled that Jesus was worth it.

I am a passionate person. However, I am also fairly chill. I don’t consider myself as an overly demonstrative personality. Passionate but not over the top. Many years ago, I was in the middle of a service and I started reflecting about the goodness of God. We had just overcome a difficult season and I was so thankful to survive it. Emotions began to well up and I kept saying, keep it together, people are watching. You can give God glory when you get home and are more comfortable. The Holy Spirit checked me and said,

Jesus didn’t die publically for you to worship privately!

There are angels that have never ceased to worship from the core of their beings, not because they have to, but because they get to

David worshipped with all of his might

If your personality or preference puts a lid on the glory of God, you need to surrender it

This man took a posture that honored Jesus the way He should be honored.

Closing

Gratitude is an Expression of Faith. Jesus says that the man didn’t feel entitled, he prioritized Him, and he took the appropriate posture. Each of these is an expression of faith. Jesus says, go your way, your faith has healed you. There is a distinction between being cleansed and being whole. The other men had to still go show themselves to the priest. They still needed to be validated by man. Instead of going to the priest, he became a priest and built his alter at the feet of Jesus. He didn’t have to be validated by man because he was accepted by God. Are you waiting for a stamp of approval when you’ve been sealed by grace? However, the way this man responded allowed him to bypass that process. This is what it means when it says, who the son sets free is free indeed. Free indeed to worship, love, serve, give, live.

Thankfulness flows from what’s in your heart, not what’s in your hands

What’s in your heart sets the foundation for what God will put in your hands