TEXT: Luke 17:11-19
11 And it came to pass, as he went to Jerusalem, that he passed through the midst of Samaria and Galilee.
12 And as he entered into a certain village, there met him ten men that were lepers, which stood afar off:
13 And they lifted up their voices, and said, Jesus, Master, have mercy on us.
14 And when he saw them, he said unto them, Go shew yourselves unto the priests. And it came to pass, that, as they went, they were cleansed.
15 And one of them, when he saw that he was healed, turned back, and with a loud voice glorified God,
16 And fell down on his face at his feet, giving him thanks: and he was a Samaritan.
17 And Jesus answering said, Were there not ten cleansed? but where are the nine?
18 There are not found that returned to give glory to God, save this stranger.
19 And he said unto him, Arise, go thy way: thy faith hath made thee whole.
INTRODUCTION:
This is the time of the year that we focus especially on the matter of giving thanks. Thanksgiving Day, national holiday in the U.S. commemorating the harvest reaped by the Plymouth Colony in 1621. The first national Thanksgiving Day was proclaimed by Pres. Washington for Nov. 26, 1789. Pres. Lincoln revived the custom in 1863. In 1941 Congress decreed that Thanksgiving should fall on the fourth Thursday of November. The customary turkey dinner is a reminder of the four wild turkeys served at the PILGRIMS' first thanksgiving feast.
Thanksgiving should be a way of life for the child of God.
It should not be a once a year matter, but a daily sending up of thanks to God out of a heart grateful for the blessings of God.
In our Scripture, we find Jesus on the border line between Galilee and Samaria.
There was a band of ten lepers that met him there. Normally the Jews had no dealing with the Samaritans at all but in this group of ten lepers, there had to be at least one Samaritan among the group.
SAMARITANS :
So the Samaritans were a "mixed race" contaminated by foreign blood and false worship. The Jewish historian Josephus indicates that the Samaritans were also opportunists. When the Jews enjoyed prosperity, the Samaritans were quick to acknowledge their blood relationship. But when the Jews suffered hard times, the Samaritans disowned any such kinship, declaring that they were descendants of Assyrian immigrants.
When a group of Jews, led by Zerubbabel, returned from the Babylonian Captivity, the Samaritans offered to help Zerubbabel rebuild the Temple. When their offer was rejected, they tried to prevent the Jews from finishing their project (Ezra 4:1-10).
When Nehemiah attempted to rebuild the wall of Jerusalem, he was opposed by Arabic and Samaritan groups (Neh. 2:10--6:14). The breach between the Samaritans and the Jews widened even further when Ezra, in his zeal for racial purity, pressured all Israelite men who married during the Captivity to divorce their pagan wives (Ezra 10:18-44).
The final break between the two groups occurred when the Samaritans built a rival temple on Mount Gerizim, claiming Shechem rather than Zion (Jerusalem) as the true Beth-el (house of God), the site traditionally chosen and blessed by the Lord.
There is a beautiful picture here. Thought animosity existed between the Jews and the Samaritans, Jesus saw that they were men in need. He was touched by their needs.
THE LEPERS STOOD AFAR OFF
Why? We do not know for sure how much of a distance that was to exist between them and normally healthy people. One authority said, if the leper was windward of a healthy person, that he was to stand at least 50 yards away. The lepers had to live in isolation, for it was felt that leprosy was a highly communicable disease. The leper had to wear "mourning" clothes, leave his hair unkept, kept his beard covered, and cry,"Unclean, unclean" to give folks warning.
He was to make it clear that everyone was to avoid him. He was an outcast from society as long as he lived.
No account in the gospels so clearly shows an ungrateful heart.
The lepers came to Jesus for a cure-- he healed them, and one came back to give thanks.
That is not a very high percentage- that is one out of ten or only 10%.
THAT IS THE WAY THAT MEN ARE MOST OF THE TIME. THEY GET WHAT THEY WANT AND THEY TEND TO NOT COME BACK AFTER THAT.
WE ARE SO UNGRATEFUL IN OUR GENERATION.
1- Ungrateful to parents
In the early years of a child, there was a time when a day or weeks neglect would have meant our death. There were years that we were totally dependent on our parents, yet the day can come when an aged parent becomes a nuisance. Many young folks are unwilling to repay the debt that they owe for the nurture and care by their parents in those early years.
One said "How sharper it is than a serpent’s tooth it is to have a thankless child."
Children should show gratitude to parents. Best way is to listen to them--cherish their advice.
2- Ungrateful toward one other
We owe much to those who have been a blessing to us and nurtured us in the Lord. Provided encouragement and strength.
SOMETIMES WE DO NOT KNOW HOW TO APPRECIATE THOSE WHO SHOW THEIR LOVE TOWARD US.
3- Ungrateful to God
In the time of bitter need we cry out to God for help, and then when things are going good
we many times do not even say thanks before our meals.
Ps.103:2 "Bless the Lord O My Soul, and forget not all His benefits."
Let’s look at some things from this passage that we can be thankful for in life:
I. I AM THANKFUL FOR GOD’S LOVE
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There was nothing at all in society that said the Lord had to pay any attention to these men crying for help. No one could force the hand of God. Though he did not have to care, he did care.
His love was manifest toward a vile, dirty , wretched looking person.
The lepers were an unkept people. Their bodies stank due to the putrefying sores that would appear all over their bodies. No one was to touch them and was to keep their distance from the stricken people.
The Pharisees did not prompt Jesus to action. They were better than the lepers, or at least they thought so.
Society did not prompt Jesus to action, because they were in favor of segregating the lepers and keeping them totally separate.
The Jews did not encourage him to do anything, for they had no dealings with the Samaritans. Wanted nothing to do with the half-breeds.
What is it that moved the Lord?
Something called compassion. It came out of a heart full of divine love.
Jesus cared so much for the stricken men, that he was moved when they came to him.
ILL
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Could you imagine those lepers coming to someone like Stalin or Hitler and begging the for mercy due to their disease? They would have been dragged out of the building and shot or executed in some fashion almost immediately.
What a wonderful thing is the love of the Lord Jesus Christ!!
ILL.
---
Years ago a person visited a camp of gypsies. The Christian lady found a dying boy in one of the tents. She knelt by his side, and quoted slowly Jn. 3:16, three times. The dying eyes opened up and the words feebly came out--"Tell it again."
She read the words again and the feeble voice said, " I never heard that before. You mean God loves me, a poor gypsy boy? God gave his Son. Whosoever, that is men. I love him for that! Then with his last voice the young boy whispered,
"Tell it to the rest", and he went out into eternity.
I. I AM THANKFUL FOR THE LOVE OF CHRIST
II. I AM THANKFUL FOR THE CLEANSING POWER OF CHRIST
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These men had a very serious problem.
Leprosy was an incurable disease.
In the days of Christ, only the Lord could do anything with leprosy.
Leprosy is a picture of sin.
A. It was incurable
There was no medicine at all that could touch it.
When a person had the disease they would die with it.
All efforts to provide a cure were in vain.
If they possessed a box car load of LYE SOAP they could not wash it away.
Ill.
It was much like the HIV virus of our day-there is no known cure.
Sin is much the same way.
There is no cure for it in anything that man can do.
Not by works of righteous which we have done, but according to His mercy He saved us.
SOME TRY JOINING THE CHURCH AND THINK THAT WILL TAKE CARE OF SIN. Being a part of the zoo does not make you an animal.
OTHERS TRY TO WASH IT AWAY IN THE BAPTISTERY WATERS, BUT THAT WILL NOT WORK EITHER. It is Christ’s blood that washes away sin, not water. I am not a "dunk em’ and save em’ preacher." Blood salvation is the only kind.
SOME TRY TO REVERSE THE EFFECT OF SIN BY BEING A MORE RESPECTABLE MEMBER OF SOCIETY.
There was no cure for sin until Jesus came our way.
He took care of every single one of them through the cross.
There is no sin left unforgiven.. Calvary took care of it all...
Sin can be cured, but it takes Christ’s blood to take care of it.
Thank God he provided the cure for an incurable disease.
CAN YOU IMAGINE IF YOU HAD AN INCURABLE DISEASE AND SOMEONE CAME UP WITH A CURE FOR IT AFTER MANY YEARS?
You would love to meet with that man and thank Him, no doubt.
There is nothing hardly that you would not do for Him.
Well, that is what Jesus did for you. He cleansed you and took away the sins that so defiled and corrupted your life.
Ill
---
William Cowper wrote in that great hymn, There is a Fountain---
"Dear dying lamb, thy precious blood, shall never lose it’s power, till all the ransomed church of God,
be saved to sin no more."
We are cured and clean through what Christ has done for us.
That is something to be thankful for in daily living!!
B. It Was Defiling
The person who had the disease had to wear a covering over his mouth and cry out "Unclean, Unclean." He had to be shut outside the camp and could not enjoy time with others in society.
There was the time we were shut out of the society of heaven.
Now that saved, our citizenship is in heaven.
We have a right to enter in
now in prayer, and will have a right on day to pass through the gates of the New Jerusalem, the eternal city that Jesus has gone to prepare.
The Bible says that in heaven, "Nothing can enter that defiles."
But as they say in Mexico," No problem."
Jesus simply took care of it all when he saved us.
These men in Luke’s gospel simply did what Jesus said, and as they were on their way to the priest’s house, they were healed.
THANKFUL FOR GOD’S LOVE
THANKFUL FOR CLEANSING POWER OF CHRIST
III.. I AM THANKFUL FOR CHRIST’S DESIRE FOR FELLOWSHIP
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Why did Jesus say what he did about the nine not coming back?
It was not just a conversation piece for there was much more than he could have talked about. He could have talked about the weather, about the events what was said on the Galilee evening news, but he chose to reveal the longing of his heart.
What did Jesus long for? For all of the men to come back and fellowship with Him by giving thanks. One of best ways to fellowship with Christ is to give thanks for the things that He has done for us.
Are you amazed that Christ would want to fellowship with you?
If not you certainly should be.
He wants us to spend time at His feet.
Who would think that a king would want a beggar to come and spend time around his feet? Most ancient kings would have a beggar taken off somewhere out of his sight. He would not have wanted to be bothered by a low life.
Heb 4:16
16 Let us therefore come boldly unto the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy, and find grace to help in time of need. (KJV)
Come with confidence that God wants us to come into his presence with our needs. Not only with needs but to tell Him how much we love Him.
Note
===
You like to hear that from those who love you, even when you know of their love
on your behalf. Spend time talking to God about how much He means to you--
then make sure to back it up with your daily life!!!!!
IV. I AM THANKFUL FOR THE CHANGE THAT HE HAS MADE
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The lepers looked different-- no longer repulsive
They smelled different--- No more festering sores.
They walked different--Because they were healthy.
They talked different--Not having to cry,"unclean" any longer.
What a wonderful change in my life has been wrought,
Since Jesus came into my heart!
Not all we want to be, but thank God not what we were.
Ill
===
One of men in evangelism class this morning talked about wanting to be a positive influence and win his loved ones to Lord over thanksgiving holidays. I told him that family was harder to witness to than anyone else. He said,"They should see the change in me--I was a whoremonger--a bartender--fooled with dope and drugs, but what a changed now.
Jesus can totally transform a life.
THANKFUL FOR GOD’S LOVE
THANKFUL FOR CLEANSING POWER
THANKFUL FOR A DESIRE FOR FELLOWSHIP
THANKFUL FOR THE CHANGE THAT HAS BEEN MADE
V. I AM THANKFUL FOR COMPANY OF THE SAVED
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Those men before they met Jesus, did not know how to really enjoy one another’s company. They were in so much misery, that they did not know how to communicate.
Thank God for the saints.
Encourage
Help mature
Point us to God.
Remind us of a better country.
Conclusion:
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Whatever you do, do not fail to be thankful to God.
For spiritual blessings and for everything.
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