Title: Faith of Thanksgiving / Luke 17:11-19
Contents
Faith of Gratitude / Luke 17:11-19
The people that God loves the most are those who come to God, worship Him, and give thanks to Him. Faith with thanksgiving is evidence that the faith has lived, and it can also be viewed as the fruit of faith. As we live a life of gratitude before God, there are things to be thankful for when it is difficult, and there are things to be thankful for when things are good. But being grateful when it's good is something anyone can do. Gentiles can do it, and even thieves and prodigals give thanks when something good happens. The thieves make a toast among themselves. As Christians, our true gratitude is knowing how to be thankful in difficult times. I bless you in the name of the Lord that the faith of gratitude may continue throughout your life.
W. Brake said, 'He who knows how to be grateful, a bountiful harvest follows.' Just as a locomotive stands in front and a carriage follows it, so when the auditor stands in front, a bountiful harvest follows. However, if you continue to live a life of complaining and resentment, the harvest will be lost. Believe that when we live a life of gratitude, things to be grateful for will abound.
In particular, today's text records the incident where the Lord met ten lepers. Now, when Jesus was going to Jerusalem, while passing between Samaria and Galilee, he met ten lepers, who at that time were completely deprived of their sovereignty and were expelled from their homes and unable to share friendship with their friendly family. When these men met Jesus, Jesus healed all ten lepers. But there are many lessons for us here.
In fact, there are many people in this world who have physical leprosy but live like angels spiritually. However, there are many people on this earth who have a healthy body, look like an angel, and are dressed up like a VIP, but they are full of even more terrifying sins on this earth, and they are rotting like a vicious leprosy.
However, one of the ten lepers went away and said, 'Oh, it was because of Jesus that I was healed, and I just went without giving thanks to him.' Realizing this, he came back and gave thanks before Jesus. But the nine did not know how to thank.
How many people on this earth live without gratitude, like the nine lepers who have been healed by the Lord in the same way, even though they eat, drink, and live the things God has given them throughout their lives, and just went away without giving thanks? Although the world is full of tribulations, storms, dangers, and various difficulties, I hope that you are thankful that you have celebrated Thanksgiving with the protection and grace of the Lord.
What, then, did this leper thank?
First, thank you for meeting Jesus.
“When he entered a village, ten lepers met Jesus and stood afar off” (verse 12). One of the things we are most grateful for is meeting Jesus. The Lord came to these ten marginalized lepers who were marginalized, despised, and deprived of their sovereignty because of leprosy. So they met Jesus. Today, we are all spiritually sinners like lepers, but our Jesus came to this earth to meet you and me. Those who have met God will not pass by indifferently to the Lord. God has not only called us by name, but also the hairs of our heads are counted, and remembers our sitting and standing, and He is a God who sees all our circumstances and situations.
Are you happy to meet God? How happy would it be for a patient to see a doctor, to meet only homicide detectives when thugs are brimming with challenges? Amos 4:12 says, “Prepare to meet your God.” Why do we need to meet God? When we meet God, God takes care of everything we do. We humans are lacking, but God is not beyond us. May you all walk with our Lord for the rest of your life.
Second, thank you for answering my cry.
"He lifted up his voice and said, 'Jesus, Teacher, have mercy on us.' And when he saw it, he said, 'Go, show yourselves to the priests.' And as they went, they were cleansed" (verses 13, 14). The word 'mercy' in Hebrew means 'have pity' in Hebrew. A leper who came to the Lord thanked the Lord for answering his cry when he cried out for mercy in the dire circumstances of life.
Please believe that our Lord is our God who listens to our smallest groan and gives to our faces. Our God is a God who never turns away from us, no matter how big or small we are. Today, because God is helping you and I, we have not despaired of anything until today, we have not been afraid of any danger, and we have never lived a lonely or lonely life under any circumstances. I've been living Now, no one can predict how long our journey will be left, but one thing is for sure. When we cry out to our Lord for our difficult circumstances, please believe that the Lord will surely answer us.
Psalm 103:13 says, "As a father has compassion on his children, so the Lord has compassion on those who fear him." God has mercy on those who fear God. We hope that God will solve all our difficult problems when we serve God centeredly, give thanks to God, praise Him, and pray.
Also in Isaiah 49:13 it says, "The Lord has comforted his people, and he will have mercy on them who were afflicted." Here, it is said that He has mercy on those who are afflicted. God helps us even when we are going well, but when we are in trouble, please believe that He has more compassion for us, works among us, and is with us.
In fact, when we look back on the footsteps we have walked, whenever we kneel before God and cry out to Him, relying only on Him, God answers our cry. When I depended on people, I could not help but be disappointed. God never turns away from our prayers.
How many people would these ten lepers have appealed to them to have mercy on them? But there was no one to solve it. But our Lord solved all ten of them. We believe that those who believe in and fear our God and cry out to God will surely answer them. Today, God wants us to cry out to God to have mercy on us. Don't be discouraged by looking at the earth, but look to God and receive comfort. Instead of having a sense of inferiority by looking at your own abilities, you have to have courage by relying on God to help you. Today, more and more people give up their lives and end their lives by cursing them. Those who ask for mercy from God will surely help, and Psalm 50:15 says, "Call on me in the day of trouble. I will deliver you, and you will glorify me." Also in Psalm 119:153 it says, “Look at my affliction and deliver me.” I prayed to God to rescue me. God does not turn away from that prayer, and just as he heard the psalmist's prayer, believe that God will hear your prayers today.
Third, thank you for the clean cure of leprosy.
“As they were going, they were cleansed… and they fell at the feet of Jesus and gave thanks, for he was a Samaritan” (verses 14, 16). It refers to the complete restoration of a normal condition by re-growth, skin becoming intact, and hair and eyebrows remaining again. We should be thankful to the God who heals our lives cleanly. God is still giving this grace to you and me today.
C. Coolidge said, 'If you wish to be blessed, be grateful.' Salvation comes by faith. You and I have been saved through faith. However, please believe that God's blessings will continue in a life of gratitude. We should be grateful in good times, but we should be grateful in difficult times. When we live a life of gratitude, we continue to be grateful for the past, present, and future. Because even if there are things to be grateful for in the past, if you live a grateful life in the present, please believe that the gratitude of the past will continue in the present life of gratitude. Therefore, God will not only continue to give thanks, but even if there are difficulties today, if you live a life of gratitude, you will be assured of gratitude in the future. Please believe that God's grace is not a one-time grant, but is connected from the past to the present and from the present to the future. So, a person who always has gratitude in his life will always be satisfied with his life.
Everyone, when you have a grudge or complaint, look at your face. Do you have a shining and beautiful figure like an angel? A person with gratitude expresses gratitude through words, but also sings a song of thanks, overflows with gratitude, and continues to give thanks to others.
Dear saints!
We hope that every cry we cry out to Jesus will be answered, and we hope that you will always live a beautiful life, thanking God for His grace to heal us cleanly. Just as the blessing of salvation came even more to a Samaritan leper who returned to thank the Lord after being healed by the Lord, I pray that you will overcome everything and be blessed with overflowing blessings by living a life of faith that gives thanks for everything throughout your life. do.