Title: Thanksgiving Day: Thankful Faith
Contents
thank you faith
Bible: Luke 17:11-19
There is a common attitude that must be seen among believers who serve God well. The first is repentance, the second is an attitude of gratitude, and the third is an attitude of service. These three are not separate, but one. In other words, those who want to receive grace in apology are people of faith who are always grateful and know how to serve.
Today's text tells the story of lepers who live without hope. Ten lepers, who had been alienated from people, met Jesus and experienced a miracle of being healed by grace. But only one of the ten returned to give thanks to Jesus and glorify God. At that time, Jesus granted him not only physical illness, but also peace of mind and salvation of the soul.
The Bible tells the Israelites, "They are a stiff-necked people," who were not thankful and complained after experiencing God's direct grace for 40 years in the wilderness. Also, if you look at 2 Timothy 3:1 and below, it is said that as the last days draw near, people lose their gratitude. God clearly commanded us in 1 Thessalonians 5:18 to “give thanks in everything.” Therefore, we must know that not being thankful for God's grace is clearly as sinful as blaspheming the Bible and taking one's life in vain. Today, we would like to learn the lesson of Thanksgiving through the incident where a Samaritan leper came to Jesus and was saved through thanksgiving.
1. The content of thanks must be clearly identified.
The ten sick people who were suffering from leprosy had the belief that if they came to Jesus they would surely be healed. This faith led them to Jesus. But they lacked one thing. It was a lack of gratitude. Faith brings power. The great city of Jericho collapsed when we obeyed according to our faith. When he was told to wash himself seven times in the Jordan River, when he obeyed in faith, General Naaman was healed of leprosy. When they obeyed the order to fill the jars with water at the wedding hall, they miraculously turned water into wine. If you go through faith when God says, you will see the power. However, if these miracles stop here, there is no benefit. It should not end with a miracle, but we should go one step further and give thanks to God who accomplished that miracle. We must know that our faith is perfected in the stage of gratitude.
God has told us to "give thanks in everything". "everything" means "everything". He said to give thanks for all things, good or bad, great or little. Therefore, a grateful faith can be said to be the flower of faith. In the text, ten people met Jesus and were healed, but only one of them came to Jesus with a grateful heart. The remaining nine were so moved that they were healed of their illness that they completely forgot to thank them. Even though we always experience God's grace, there are many times when we forget gratitude like the nine lepers.
This year too, God has given us abundant grace. He made us reap a bountiful harvest in good weather, and through the installation ceremony in our church, we have appointed workers who will be faithful to the Lord's church. Above all, we should always be thankful that God has made us His children and bestowed abundant grace upon us, even if we do not have it or do not recognize it. Faith that clearly knows what to be thankful for and knows how to be thankful is the perfect faith.
2. Be clear about what you are being audited for.
Nine out of ten people who were healed went back, but only one gave glory to God. A grateful person knew that God had healed him and was grateful. Many people today attribute their thanks to God to idols because they do not know what to give thanks to. We are grateful to know that the grace we have received in abundance is the gift of our ancestors. But people are never capable of giving blessings. What power does man have to claim the sun, the wind, and the air, and bring it to fruition?
In 2 Kings 5, Naaman, the commander of the Syrian army, was stricken with leprosy. At that time, a young woman who was taken captive from Israel and took care of the household said that if she went to the land of Israel and saw the man of God, she would be cured of leprosy. So Naaman came to Israel with a gift from the king's letter. The king of Israel sent Naaman to the house of Elisha the prophet. When Elisha comes to Elisha's house, he doesn't come out, but he tells his servant to go to the Jordan River and wash himself seven times. I thought I had been beaten and tried to go back.
However, when the servant begged, "I can do more than this, wouldn't it be difficult to go to the Jordan River to bathe?" So Naaman obeyed and washed himself seven times in the Jordan River, and his body was completely healed. Naaman, who was healed, said, "It is the Lord God who has healed me, and when I return, I will worship no other gods, and I will worship the Lord God."
We need to know clearly what to be thankful for. That object can never be a person. Only God, who claims our life and the whole universe, is the object of our thanks. How can we, weak human beings, who can't do our own thing on earth while alive, become powerful people and bless them after they die? We must not be deceived. If we clearly know what we are thankful for and give thanks only to God, God's grace will come even greater.
The nine lepers who were not thankful were only healed of their diseases, but the one who returned to give thanks to Jesus received the grace that “your faith has saved you,” that is, the grace of saving his soul.
3. Gratitude must be expressed.
Gratitude should not be limited to thoughts. Gratitude must be expressed. This is what true gratitude looks like. Those who know how to express their gratitude have good relationships with people and receive greater blessings from God.
We often see unthankful people tied to the past. There are people who are not grateful for the past, saying, "How hard I have suffered in the past, and this is the reward for that time." After David was anointed king of Israel, his life was threatened by King Saul.
Everywhere he went there was a series of hardships. But David did not forget God's grace and gave thanks. Later, when he ascended to the throne of Israel, David gave Mephibosheth, who was Saul's grandson and Jonathan's son, to the royal palace and gave him the grace to eat at the king's table.
We should show our gratitude in the form of giving, giving, and serving. In one way or another, our gratitude must be expressed. Otherwise, saying thank you is nothing but a lie. We must be able to worship God with a grateful heart and to love and care for our neighbors with a grateful heart. It is not done to obtain something, but when we give our all to God with a grateful heart because what we have already received from God is so great, our gratitude becomes full thanks.
Jesus gave greater grace to one leper who knew the grace and sought it and thanked him, saying, "Your faith has saved you." In this way, God grants greater grace on the basis of knowing and thankful for God's grace. We pray in the name of the Lord that we can clearly find things to be thankful for in all things, and that there is an expression of gratitude for giving thanks and giving our time to serve, knowing that the only one who deserves our thanks is God.