We Give Thanks - The Ten Lepers, 11/2/14

Sermon 11-2-14 we give thanks – the 10 lepers Lk 17:11-19

11 Now on his way to Jerusalem, Jesus traveled along the border between Samaria and Galilee. 12 As he was going into a village, ten men who had leprosy[b] met him. They stood at a distance 13 and called out in a loud voice, “Jesus, Master, have pity on us!”
14 When he saw them, he said, “Go, show yourselves to the priests.” And as they went, they were cleansed.  15 One of them, when he saw he was healed, came back, praising God in a loud voice. 16 He threw himself at Jesus’ feet and thanked him—and he was a Samaritan.  17 Jesus asked, “Were not all ten cleansed? Where are the other nine? 18 Has no one returned to give praise to God except this foreigner?” 19 Then he said to him, “Rise and go; your faith has made you well.”

New sermon series – its Nov – we are going to talk about gratitude.

We are using corporate slogans as a theme………

Today, NIKE - just do it

It’s a great thought on the subject of gratitude……just do it

Famous Scripture - 10 lepers

Lets talk about the nature of gratitude

There is a natural state

          Selfish, turned in, suspicious, angry, worried, it is the natural way

There is a holy state-

          Not self righteous

But Loving, Joyful, peaceful, kind, full of goodness and graciousness

Gratitude turns the corner

It may be the most important spiritual discipline

You want one thing to help you turn the corner in your life?

We are what we practice

Muscles - Working out vs the atrophy of muscle

Language - Learning a language – Greek and losing it

As we grow older we can become set in our ways

Bitter or better

If you follow the negative track, you become negative

If you follow the way of gratitude you become more grateful, you see it all the time

Its like rivers of living water welling up from deep within

Today we have several stories

First:  the story of the 9

We have all been ungrateful

Its all about me

God why wont you devote yourself to making me happy?

Although the lepers cried for mercy, I think the 9 were really like…

if you were god, you would NOT let this stand.

Then they are healed and they are smug.  Ahh, this is how life should go

The ungrateful 9 – we have all been there

But you don’t have to stay there

You can choose to change

When you find one thing to be thankful for in your life, your entire perspective changes

Posture at the wedding.  Facing the crowd or facing the altar –

You are not getting married before your friends, you get married before God – your friends get to witness this

Second:  the story of the one who goes back

My hunch is that he was a pretty gracious guy prior to the healing

Did I mention that he was a Samaritan????? Jesus keeps pounding

My hunch is that he was a pretty gracious guy prior to the healing

God, if this is my lot in life, I will bear it with joy.

Paul prayed for his infirmity to go away

2 cor 12:7-9

Therefore, in order to keep me from becoming conceited, I was given a thorn in my flesh, a messenger of Satan, to torment me. ⁸ Three times I pleaded with the Lord to take it away from me. ⁹ But he said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.”

I know people who are struck in this life with illness, debilitating and chronic illness. And yet they are people  of joy

Others with the same situation are bitter and angry

What is the difference?

The bitter are focused on what is wrong,

the joyful are focused on what is right –

they are focused on the gift of life itself and the god who gives it.

They have found the power of gratefulness 

Third story is the work of Jesus

He sees them and has compassion on them

He values them

He does not see them as lepers.  He sees them as children of God

Pretty simple right?

But how good are we at this?

Are there people that you know that you don’t like?

Lepers? Samaritans? Samaritan lepers?

Jesus saw lepers as Gods children - You can do this too.

Those who learn to look at people as Gods children look at the world in a new way

One scholar wrote that transformation is not joining a club

It is learning to see thru the eyes of the crucified

Let sit under this one for a moment

Joining a club.  Wearing the shirt.  Getting the Christian tattoo.  Hanging a cross on the wall.  Joining a church.  All good, but all club joining.

These are signs of the real thing but they are not the real thing.

We experience the real thing when we allow ourselves to join with Christ and see the world through his eyes

What is that like? How does that work?

The Christian faith is not what you do

It is what you are and what you become

An active thriving, living thing

Is Jesus outside of you?

I pray to him, I go on with life

Or, is the holy spirit of God at work in your life, calling you wooing you,

courting you to himself and the way that he sees the world

Is Christianity a belief or an experience. 

Sure it has beliefs, but if it ends there, with no experience,

          We end up missing the very best part

No question the spirit is in there, inside of you

You just have to wake him up.  Oh.  I said that wrong.  Is he sleeping? No, we are sleeping.  He is in there.  we have to wake up to him.

When was the last time that you really sought him?  really listened?

Jesus asks a question – where are the other 9?

In your life, Where are the other 5, 30, 1100?

Where are you in the story of the 10? 

Are you one of the 9 or are you the 1 who goes back?

You may not be ready to go into the mission field, but you can be grateful.

Christianity advertises a new life.

It offers us a new perspective on life.

·        That new perspective begins when we find a grateful heart.

·        And when our heart is grateful –

·        we begin to see the world thru the eyes of our father

·        You want a different life?

·        You will find it on the road of gratitude

·        Don’t wait.  just do it.