Open your Bibles to Luke 17, Luke 17.
To me, it's one of the saddest passages in the Bible that we'll
cover. I'm not doing in the parables
tonight because it's Thanksgiving and it's a passage
that I, as I was reading it and I went over it again again today
and even later this afternoon and I just, it's a passage that
you can meditate on. You know, David said he would
meditate upon the word of God on his bed.
That would meditate. I remember Pastor Tom Whitaker
teaching me what that actually meant.
And it's not the same word that people use in Eastern religion
where they would look at a flame or look at a scene or, you know,
when they're doing yoga and think of a nice place or
something and meditate on. I think I want to know the word
meditate is the picture of a cow chewing its cud, regurgitating
at the grass and then chewing it over and, and, and chewing it
over and getting every ounce of goodness.
And so as you meditate upon the word of God, you're getting
every ounce of goodness in the Holy Spirit.
Then we'll push out of that which you've read, the passages
of Scripture that you're reading.
He'll push out those things that you're ready for, those things
that you're mature enough to understand and learn.
We'll do that tonight. The word Thanksgiving, the word
give thanks or the words give thanks and the word thankful
occur more than 70 times throughout the Bible.
Several Bible passages are saturated with the holy oil of
giving thanks unto Almighty God. Paul wrote to the church in
Ephesus in chapter 5 verse 20 and he said, and you will always
give thanks for everything to God the Father in the name of
our Lord Jesus Christ. The command.
So it's not a suggestion. I'll be nice if you thanked.
You know, when you say to your kids, you make sure you thank
them. It's you're not going, I'm just
suggesting that you say thank them.
It's a command, isn't it? When you say you give, hey, make
sure you give thanks. The command, the beseeching of
giving thanks to God is central to the apostles.
Poor Apostle Paul's entire ministry.
Boy, he was thankful to the Church in Kalashae.
He wrote chapter one, verse 11. We also pray that you will be
strengthened with His glorious power, so that you will have all
the patience and endurance you need.
May you be filled with joy, always thanking the Father who
has enabled you to share the inheritance that belongs to
God's holy people who live in the light, to the moral church
in Thessalonica, Greece, he wrote.
When Thessalonians 5/16/17 and 18, he said always be joyful,
keep on praying. In everything give thanks.
Not for everything. In everything give thanks.
Why people say what is God's will for me?
Well, God's will for you is for you to give thanks because it
says it in everything. Give thanks for this is the will
of God in Christ Jesus concerning you.
What is God's will for your life?
To give thanks. When was the last time someone
thanked you for something? Thank you very much.
When was the last time you thank God for all that he had done for
you? You know, you and I noticed
manners today, don't we? You know, you notice manners.
Why do we notice manners? Because when someone thanks us,
we're shocked. We're not used to it.
Because they're rare, we notice manners so much because they're
lacking. You'll come across a little boy
who or a little girl who say something and I go, thank you.
And you kind of go, well, man, and immediately you go, now that
that child has been raised right, the child knows what's
what. You and I noticed manners, Paul
wrote to Timothy some of Paul's last words.
Timothy, a pastor, a young pastor who took over from Paul
in Ephesus, in Turkey, modern Turkey, and he wrote these words
of what life would be like in the last days.
He said, Timothy, know this, that in the last days perilous
times will come. Men will be lovers of
themselves, lovers of money, boasters, proud, blasphemous,
disobedient parents. And then he says unthankful.
Unthankful. Paul wrote in in the midst of
this that that the sign, one of the signs of the last phase is
that people will be unthankful. Giving thanks to God is not a
manner a matter sorry of manners.
I've been Speaking of manners, but it's not a matter of
manners. No, it's far beyond that.
It is in fact worship of God and acknowledging of who he is and
then who we are. Luke's gospel, chapter 17.
Let's read from verse 15 all Now let's let's go.
Yep, from verse 15. Now we'll start back verse 11.
Just if, if you've got a page where it's 11:15, I just wanted
you to turn the pages then. Now what happened as he went to
Jerusalem, that he passed through the midst of Samaria and
Galilee. Then Jesus as he entered a
certain village, there met him 10 men who were lepous, leprosy
still today incurable, who stood afar off because that was that
they had to do that. They had to walk around and sing
out lepers, lepers, unclean, unclean, unclean.
And people said people would clear out, get out of the way as
they came through. And it says they lifted up their
voices and said, Jesus, Master, have mercy on us.
So when Jesus saw them, he said to them, go show yourselves to
the priests. Why?
Because in the book of Leviticus it's written, and it's funny
that it's written there, that anyone cured of leprosy was to
show themselves to the priests. They were to go through an
inspection process by the priest who would then verify, yes,
you've been healed. Now you're allowed back in
fellowship. Now you're back into temple and
all those things. Why would that be written there
for an incurable disease? Because they knew Jesus would
come and he would be able to cure leprosy.
Go show yourself to the priests. And so it was that as they went,
they were cleansed. They just shall live by faith.
And so they, they could have said, well, you know, we're
lepers. What are we going to show
ourselves? We're not going to go too deep
into this because we want to cover Thanksgiving, but because
they went off in obedience and in faith, with their toes and
fingers missing and and all that.
And as they were shuffling off this group, things began to
happen. The fingers began to reappear,
the nose reappear, their ears, all their their toes.
They began to not shuffle. They began to walk properly.
And then they noticed each other.
The leprosy is gone. Their voices, their voices have
come back clear. They don't have that this, this
harshness of this gravely voice that comes with leprosy.
And it said, and one of them notice this is the saddest part
and one of them verse 15, when he saw that he was healed,
returned and with a loud voice in the Greek it's Megalis where
we get our term megaphone. With a loud voice he glorified
God fell down on his face. That's worship at Jesus feet,
giving him thanks and he was a Samaritan, not even Jewish.
So Jesus answered and said and notice what Jesus says, because
Jesus said well awesome, hey brother, great.
No, and he raises this point because God knows what God wants
and what God expects. He said whether or not ten
cleansed. Yes, they were.
It's a rhetorical question. Where's the other knight?
Were there not any found who
returned to give glory to God except this foreigner, which
tells us that most likely the other 9 will what Jews, sons of
Abraham Jesus said to him. Arise, go your way, your faith
has made you well. So were there not ten cleansed?
Sadly, today many follow the path of the other nine.
You know, we, we used to have this term at work, swings and
roundabouts with with the police and their shifts.
You know, can I, I'm on shift, but can I, you know, cut the
morning so I can see my son's athletics carnival, the swimming
carnival or I've got to go this and do that.
The bosses will go no worries what we'll cover, you know, but
expecting that what you were cutting out, you would then pay
back at a another time and and do the ship with somebody else.
You know, swings and roundabouts.
I think sadly, many people with the Lord in their walk with God.
It's all one way. How come God, what about God you
got to do this and there's nothing going the other way.
That's tonight. Tonight, so different.
Tonight we're here to thank God. Tonight we're here to thank Him.
The tragedy in many lives today is that God wants to bless you
more than you want to be blessed.
He wants to speak to you more than you want to be spoken to.
He wants to work in your life, even though we neglect Him with
indifference. How many times have you known
people that you've come across? Maybe they've had the whole
church praying for them about a certain situation or they've
been through a harrowing experience and they've said, you
know, during that time I prayed and I said, God, you get me
through this and I will. But they never did, even though
God got them through. How many times has have
churches, you know, brought someone in a really brought
intercede for someone. And during that period they've
been around and yeah, yeah, yeah, we need this.
We need. And then when, when they've
gotten through, when the prayers have been answered, they're
absent. So many of us are quick to pray
for help, yet we're very slow to give thanks tonight.
We've set aside this Wednesday evening for this church, for all
of us to give thanks. In Philippians chapter 4, verse
6, Paul wrote these words. He's in gaol and he writes these
words while he's in gaol. He says don't worry about
anything, be anxious for nothing.
It says the new King James don't worry about anything instead.
So instead of worrying, because worrying is actually sinful,
worrying, being anxious is saying God, I don't think you
can. You're going to get us through.
We're a bit sketchy about this. I know, because anytime I worry,
I know I've got to repent of that.
It's a sin before God. It's saying God, you're almighty
God. But you know, I don't think you
can fix this. I'm a bit worried.
I'm concerned. Don't worry about anything.
Instead, turn the worry, turn the anxiousness into a prayer.
Pray about everything. Have a column, write down all
your worries, all your concerns. Write them all down and draw a
line through them, each one of them as you pray for them and
take them off the worry side. Tear that up and make them.
These are my prayers and I've given them to God.
Instead, pray about everything. Tell God what you need.
And then it says, and then thank him for all he has done.
Thank Him for all he has done. Why should we give thanks unto
the Lord? One, I'll give you 4 points.
One, it strengthens our faith. You know, giving thanks
strengthens your faith. How's that?
God wants to make Thanksgiving an essential part of our
prayers. It's not like, oh God, you know,
I'm bringing you the situation I'm going through.
It's desperate. Here I am at work and I don't
know what's going on. Oh, and I don't give thanks, but
when my faith is growing, my prayer changes and I go, oh,
God, I got the situation at work.
But Lord, I know you'll get me through.
I know you, you're with me, and I thank you for hearing my
prayer. I thank you that you'll answer
my prayer. I thank you that you'll sort
this out. See this It goes hand in hand
because giving thanks. By giving thanks, we are
reminded of God's power and God's faithfulness to us over
the years. And a little while back someone
come to church and they asked me after and they said, you know,
don't see miracles. You know, like we read the book
of Acts and what you what you'll go on that now, why don't we see
miracles that day like now like we did then?
I said, I think you've got to open your eyes.
Actually, you got to open your eyes because the miracles are
happening all the time because you said I said I was sharing
this with the pastor just the other day.
If this Sunday morning I stood here and said, want anyone to
everyone and anyone to stand up who's had a miracle happen in
their life, who would stand up? How many people would be
remaining seated? We, we, we forget what God has
done. I mean, if you're saved, you
should stand up. Jesus Christ, the Son of God
died on the crossview. That's a miracle.
It's a miracle that you're saved.
A miracle that I'm saved. As our faith in God grows
stronger, we come to realise that nothing is too hard for the
Lord. We change from the James
chapter. One person who is too minded.
Oh, Lord, I don't know if you can do this.
You know, I'm kind of. I'm double minded.
Yeah. Do will you do this too?
We're anxious for nothing. We have the peace of God that
passes all understanding. We've given it to the Lord.
The Lord will sort it out in his way.
Lord not my will. Your will be done.
Have you come to the Lord for help?
Have you and then forgotten to thank him for for for what he's
done for you? Do you thank God for the
blessing he gives you each day? Well, but Keith, you know, I
don't know about you, but I have nothing to be thankful for.
We'll stop for a moment and consider some of the many
blessings we have as Christians besides salvation.
Do you have the blessing of work, a job, You know, that's a,
that's a blessing of God to be out of work.
It's a God given blessing. How's your health while you're
here tonight? You're alive, you're breathing.
Is it relatively good? You know, I remember when I put
my hand through some glass, putting some stuff in the bin
and sliced all the tendons and really took my thumb off and cut
all up here and everything. And I began to, as I was getting
repaired after that time, they stitched everything up.
And you know, I get feeling macro surgery or microsurgery,
they do all that. But as I was recuperating or
rehabilitating with the wounds, I realise what it's like to be
disabled with a hand. Can't, can't grab turn, can't
turn the key on a car, can't tie my shoes up, can't put my pants
on, can't put a belt on, can't open the door.
There's a lot of things that I won't mention, but there's
tonnes and tonnes of things I thought I really understand.
Now I have a greater understanding what it's like to
have a disability with a hand. When I take that slow and
careful walk down the the fifth floor of Royal Perth Hospital to
the intensive care ward and I see little family groups huddled
together, all going through the struggle of a loved one being in
intensive care, then hanging by a thread between this world and
the next. I'm thankful.
I go home and I'm thankful. When I enter Perth Children's
Hospital and see those poor little kids, they all look
similar because their hair is all gone.
They're on chemo, they're on drugs in the sense of healing
the trying to heal the, the cancer in their bodies, their
frail little bodies. They, they're quite, quite
frail. They pile, they, they're very
light in their weight. They have a tube coming out of
their nose, each and every one of them.
I go home, I have no problems. I'm thankful.
I give thanks. You see, our health, we just
don't know what a blessing it is until we lose it.
Belshazzar was reminded of that the night that he wasn't
thankful that he took the cups of gold and silver and wasn't
thankful to God, to the God who created him, Who Daniel said,
hold your very breath in his hand.
You're not being thankful. You've been found wanting.
You've been weighed in the balance.
You're not thanking God for for the life that you have.
And tonight you're going to lose that.
In the book of Romans, chapter one, verse 21, Paul said it's a
sign of the last days. Yes, they knew God, but they
wouldn't worship him as God or even give him thanks.
And I began to think up foolish ideas of what God was like.
The result was that their minds became dark and confused.
Secondly, why should we give thanks unto the Lord?
Because God is in control of our lives.
Aren't you glad? I mean, I always think of the
children now grandchildren, you know, when they go off to
school, when they go off to travel or when they go off to
drive their car or, or the little ones, you're not there
watching over them, you're not shepherding them.
And you know every every time that goes near something or they
trip over, you're not there. You can't watch your child 24/7,
but you can by prayer give your children to the Lord, your
grandchildren to the Lord, say the Lord you could.
If you're a husband and you've got to work away, you're going
to pray for my wife and protect her, which Overwatch his home.
You see, God is in control of all the all the circumstances in
your life. Either God did it or God allowed
it. My life is not some ghoulish
existence as a higher form of amoeba from the goo to the zoo.
I'm not a descendant from an ape languishing in existence.
That's why people are are taking their lives today.
That's why people don't consider what they do and how they live
because they don't realise the very first verse in the Bible,
which is probably the most one of the most important verses in
the Bible. In the beginning, God created
heaven on the earth. Once you realise that God
created everything and then secondly in Genesis 126, that
God made us in his image. Once you get those two things
together, you are locked solid. You realise what the world's
about, what your life's about. But if you don't have those two
things, you are, according to the world, a bit of good.
Sadly, Monday evening just just passed.
Helen and I watched programme and we listened to former TV and
radio shock jock Darren Hinch. Some of you remember he's 84 now
frail as all get out and he proudly has it being interviewed
by this reporters said you know so Darren, what happens when you
when you when you when you finish up.
Well, I don't believe in there's no heaven and there's no hell.
I mean, that's why his life has been 1 of sadness, married four
times, you know, just A lonely, unhappy man.
But he says he just said, oh, no, there's no heaven.
There's no, no, no, no hell. I'm thinking, oh, what a what a
tragic life you've lived. It's the life of animal
existence that you know, the animal just and then you go and
bury him under the tree in the backyard.
Remember, you know, no, my life, your life, Paul says, has a
purpose and a plan for we are God's masterpiece.
He has created us anew in Christ Jesus so that we can do things,
good things he planned for us long ago.
Ephesians 210 You know the words, oh, oh, oh, I didn't see
that coming. Don't don't exist in God's
vocabulary. God has never caught out.
He's never surprised. And that's why I'm thankful that
God watches over my life. I wake up tomorrow.
You know who's who's got it all set?
The Lord has you know who's been there before I get there he
goes. Thirdly, why should we give
thanks unto the Lord? Because God promises to make all
things work together for good to them who are the called
according to his purpose. Romans 8/21/28 according to his
plan, Joseph, I love Joseph can't wait to meet Joseph in
heaven. The young man, he has two
visions from the Lord, tells his brothers, tells his mum and dad.
So what all his brothers do, we're going to kill him.
Man, that's a rough family. You know, you can upset your
brothers, but they have your brothers go.
We're going to get our younger brother.
You know what we're going to do with him.
We're going to kill him. So they put him in a pit as they
talk about killing him and then they sell him.
Then as he goes and he's captured, he's accused and
remember in Egypt of raped by his boss's wife.
He's innocent. He's thrown into gaol there.
He he is seemingly forgotten by God.
You look at his life and go, wow.
And if Joseph. Joseph could have said, oh, how
come? Why is this happened to me?
God, you know, I just told the people What?
What you told me, brothers, why are you trying to kill me?
Potiphar, I've been a good servant for you.
I wasn't wasn't me. It was your wife.
Now I'm in prison. I'm giving prophecies to the
butcher, the Baker, the Candlestick maker, you know,
and. And they said, yeah, we
remember. And they didn't.
What's the go? God, why?
Why? Why is my life like.
Nowhere do we see that in Joseph's life, but when he is
finally reunited with his brothers, he's the second most
powerful man in Egypt. Now these are the words that he
said to his brothers. Remember Me?
Throw me in the pit. You're going to kill me.
Line up against the wall, all of you up against the wall.
Now you know. Now he didn't say that.
He said, God promises, He said, but As for you, you meant evil
against me, but God meant it for good in order to bring it about
as it is this day to save many people alive.
Genesis 5020. God promises you tonight, right
now, that whatever you were going through now, God can and
will miraculously use it for good.
I want to tell you a story. Phallical William Cowper.
I read many of his commentaries, but he was subject to great fits
of depression. Anyway, one day he ordered a cab
and he had himself driven to London Bridge.
When I say cab, it's it wasn't car.
But soon a dense fog settles down upon the city.
The cabbie wandered about for over 2 hours and then admitted
that he was lost, though he'd been in the business for many
years. William Cowper asked him if he
thought he could find his way home.
He said he did, and within an hour landed Mr Cowper at the
door of his residence. When he asked what the fare
would be, he mentioned to some, but he said he felt he ought not
to take anything, as he had not fulfilled his order with Mr
Cowper. Never mind, said William Cowper,
tonight you saved my life. How was that?
I was on my way to throw myself off London Bridge, and he gave
him double the usual fare. William Cowper then went into
his house and wrote the hymn which bears these lines.
God moves in mysterious ways. His wonders to perform, He
plants his footsteps on the sea, and he rides upon the storm.
You see, God's purpose for your life is to make all things work
together for good. Isn't that wonderful?
Isn't that worth thanking Him for?
Lastly, why should we give thanks to the Lord?
Because God is looking out for our eternal blessing and benefit
for straight after Romans 828 comes of course 829 which says
for God knew his people in advance and he chose them to
become like his Son so that his Son would be the first born with
many brothers and sisters. God takes all the things in our
life. He puts them together to make us
more like Jesus Christ, his beloved Son.
We may not understand this now, but tonight as it's written in
one corner, Chronicles 1634, it says all give thanks unto the
Lord for His good. His mercy endures forever.
The psalmist wrote Psalm 30, verse 11.
You have turned for me my morning into dancing.
You have put off my sackcloth and clothed me with gladness to
the end, that my glory may sing praise to you and not be silent.
Oh Lord my God, I will give thanks to you forever.
We're going to do that tonight. Let us never, never, never,
never never be like the 9 leopards, cured though healed,
never returned to Jesus and never thanked Him.