Saturday, September 16, 2006
Thanking Jesus With Your Life!
This message is about gratitude. Are you taking God for granted, or are you living a life that properly thanks Him? Our life should be like a living “thank-you” card to God, for all that He has done for us.
(Read Luke 17:11-19)
Now on His way to Jerusalem, Jesus traveled along the border between Samaria and Galilee. As He was going into a village, ten men who had leprosy met Him. They stood at a distance and called out in a loud voice, “Jesus, Master, have pity on us!” When He saw them, He said, “Go show yourselves to the priests.” And as they went, they were cleansed. One of them, when he saw he was healed, came back, praising God in a loud voice. He threw himself at Jesus’ feet and thanked Him – and he was a Samaritan. Jesus asked, “Were not all ten cleansed? Where are the other nine? Was no one found to return and give praise to God except this foreigner?” Then He said to him, “Rise and go; your faith has made you well.”
When you read this story, you might not immediately or naturally identify with the lepers – but remember that those lepers are us. Before we met Jesus, our lives were unclean due to sin. We may not have had physical leprosy, but other aspects of our lives were deteriorating – relationships, hopes, self-esteem, our sense of peace. We were like the lepers, and Jesus healed us from our messed-up condition.
So the question is, what is our response? Will we be like the 9, who just cry out to Jesus when they need something, then turn their back on Him when all is well? Will we run off like the 9 and use the things He blessed us with, while forgetting the One who gave us life in the first place? We should not want Jesus to be disappointed by our lack of gratitude, like He was with the 9 who just walked away. Sadly, so many people do just that. Or will we be like the one who returned and fell at Jesus’ feet, praising God in gratitude? Our response to what Jesus has done in our lives, should be LIVING A LIFE THAT THANKS HIM. We can do that in several important ways…
1) We thank Him by being AVAILABLE.
We should come back and thank Him by serving Him. We should come back and spend time with Him. We should be available, right by His side, always ready to use the gifts He’s given us to edify the church body, reach out to others, and help build His kingdom. (Too many people just go off like the 9, and use the gifts for their own purposes, forgetting about how He blessed them and what it was for.) What good can you do for the kingdom of God if you’re never available? We must put Him first, like Matthew 6:33 says. If you’re really grateful to God, you will be AVAILABLE. After you’ve come to Him and had your life touched and healed, Jesus should never have to ask where you are! (And if He does, it’s not because He needs the information – it’s to help you reflect and realize where you’re at spiritually in your life). We should regularly throw ourselves at Jesus’ feet and praise and thank Him by being available. Spend time serving Him!
2) We thank Him by being RESPONSIVE to His Word.
Not only should we be available to Him, but we should respond to His Word with obedience to show our love and gratitude. We must be “doers” of the Word and not just hearers. Why do some of us call Him “Lord, Lord” but STILL not do what He says? If we love Him we will obey His commandments. If we love Him we will feed His sheep. True thankfulness will inspire action, not mere words. Don’t just SAY you love Him – show it!
3) We thank Him by being REPENTANT.
Being repentant means living life in a new direction after coming into contact with Jesus’ healing power. The healed leper would never return to leprosy, and we should never return to our past unclean lifestyle of sin. That would be like if the healed leper went to a leper colony to catch the disease again. Or like it says in the letters of Peter, when we return to our old sins it is like a dog returning to its vomit! We must identify with the new creation we have become after experiencing Jesus’ touch and move forward (repenting means turning and going in the opposite direction) in the new life He has called us to.
Conclusion:
Just like the thankful leper, we owe our new start, our new life, our cleansed condition, EVERYTHING – to Jesus. We owe Him our all, and the way we live the rest of our life, each day, should be our way of saying “thank you” to Jesus through our priorities, choices, and actions. Don’t just walk away! Come back to Jesus’ side and SERVE Him as your top priority…
(Read Luke 17:11-19)
Now on His way to Jerusalem, Jesus traveled along the border between Samaria and Galilee. As He was going into a village, ten men who had leprosy met Him. They stood at a distance and called out in a loud voice, “Jesus, Master, have pity on us!” When He saw them, He said, “Go show yourselves to the priests.” And as they went, they were cleansed. One of them, when he saw he was healed, came back, praising God in a loud voice. He threw himself at Jesus’ feet and thanked Him – and he was a Samaritan. Jesus asked, “Were not all ten cleansed? Where are the other nine? Was no one found to return and give praise to God except this foreigner?” Then He said to him, “Rise and go; your faith has made you well.”
When you read this story, you might not immediately or naturally identify with the lepers – but remember that those lepers are us. Before we met Jesus, our lives were unclean due to sin. We may not have had physical leprosy, but other aspects of our lives were deteriorating – relationships, hopes, self-esteem, our sense of peace. We were like the lepers, and Jesus healed us from our messed-up condition.
So the question is, what is our response? Will we be like the 9, who just cry out to Jesus when they need something, then turn their back on Him when all is well? Will we run off like the 9 and use the things He blessed us with, while forgetting the One who gave us life in the first place? We should not want Jesus to be disappointed by our lack of gratitude, like He was with the 9 who just walked away. Sadly, so many people do just that. Or will we be like the one who returned and fell at Jesus’ feet, praising God in gratitude? Our response to what Jesus has done in our lives, should be LIVING A LIFE THAT THANKS HIM. We can do that in several important ways…
1) We thank Him by being AVAILABLE.
We should come back and thank Him by serving Him. We should come back and spend time with Him. We should be available, right by His side, always ready to use the gifts He’s given us to edify the church body, reach out to others, and help build His kingdom. (Too many people just go off like the 9, and use the gifts for their own purposes, forgetting about how He blessed them and what it was for.) What good can you do for the kingdom of God if you’re never available? We must put Him first, like Matthew 6:33 says. If you’re really grateful to God, you will be AVAILABLE. After you’ve come to Him and had your life touched and healed, Jesus should never have to ask where you are! (And if He does, it’s not because He needs the information – it’s to help you reflect and realize where you’re at spiritually in your life). We should regularly throw ourselves at Jesus’ feet and praise and thank Him by being available. Spend time serving Him!
2) We thank Him by being RESPONSIVE to His Word.
Not only should we be available to Him, but we should respond to His Word with obedience to show our love and gratitude. We must be “doers” of the Word and not just hearers. Why do some of us call Him “Lord, Lord” but STILL not do what He says? If we love Him we will obey His commandments. If we love Him we will feed His sheep. True thankfulness will inspire action, not mere words. Don’t just SAY you love Him – show it!
3) We thank Him by being REPENTANT.
Being repentant means living life in a new direction after coming into contact with Jesus’ healing power. The healed leper would never return to leprosy, and we should never return to our past unclean lifestyle of sin. That would be like if the healed leper went to a leper colony to catch the disease again. Or like it says in the letters of Peter, when we return to our old sins it is like a dog returning to its vomit! We must identify with the new creation we have become after experiencing Jesus’ touch and move forward (repenting means turning and going in the opposite direction) in the new life He has called us to.
Conclusion:
Just like the thankful leper, we owe our new start, our new life, our cleansed condition, EVERYTHING – to Jesus. We owe Him our all, and the way we live the rest of our life, each day, should be our way of saying “thank you” to Jesus through our priorities, choices, and actions. Don’t just walk away! Come back to Jesus’ side and SERVE Him as your top priority…
