#11 Thanksgiving

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"Praise the LORD. Give thanks to the LORD, for he is good; his love endures forever." Psalm 106:1
Thanksgiving, to be truly thanksgiving, is first thanks, then giving. Anonymous

In my opinion, the single most important thing to an authentically spiritual life is to learn how to praise God. It connects us to the source of all things spiritual. It puts both our triumphs and failures, joys and sorrows into perspective. It sorts out the conflict all of us feel too often between the spiritual and the material, the things of eternity and the things of time. Genuine praise and thanksgiving to God are a soul's orientation to him — comparable to the pull of magnetic North on a compass needle when we get disoriented on life's way.

From Psalms 106, we want to affirm the value and meaning of worship to the Lord and help to direct you in an experience of it.

A God to Praise

Psalm 106 is a microcosm of sorts for this total process of orientation, disorientation, and new orientation before Yahweh, the covenant-keeping God.

It opens with a hymn of praise to the Lord, recounts a variety of disorienting times in Israel's history, and closes with a grand affirmation of faith. It begins with these words:

Praise the LORD. Give thanks to the LORD, for he is good; his love endures forever.
Who can proclaim the mighty acts of the LORD or fully declare his praise?
Blessed are they who maintain justice, who constantly do what is right (Psa. 106:1-3).

For everything that eventually will be cited in this psalm, it is a psalm of praise and thanksgiving throughout. God is "good," and his "love" endures forever. These two words are linked in other places in the Psalter — such as in the oft-quoted line "Surely goodness and love will follow me all the days of my life, and I will dwell in the house of the LORD forever" (23:6).

In this case, the goodness and love of the One in whom Israel has placed her faith — and with whom she has covenanted! — are so magnificent that the writer despairs of any human's worthiness to praise him appropriately. "Who can proclaim the mighty acts of the Lord or fully declare his praise?" he asks. Here is his answer: "Blessed are they who maintain justice, who constantly do what is right."

Do you get his point? Right living is the preface to worship. People who do not have their hearts set on Lord the other six days of the week can't "pull off worship" on Sunday. People who live by the world's dog-eat-dog rules until they pull into the church parking lot and who plan to return to those same rules in sixty minutes will never know why others find worship so enthralling, exhilarating, and transporting.

A sacrifice of praise will always cost you something. It will be a difficult thing to do. It requires trading in our pride, our anger, and most valued of all, our human logic. We will be compelled to voice our words of praise firmly and precisely, even as our logic screams that God has no idea what he’s doing. Most of the verses written about praise in God’s Word were penned by men and women who faced crushing heartaches, injustice, treachery, slander, and scores of other intolerable situations. Joni Eareckson Tada

Praise is the best auxiliary to prayer. He who most bears in mind what has been done for him by God will be most emboldened to ask for fresh gifts from above. Andrew Melville (1545–1622)

You don’t learn to praise in a day, especially since you may have been complaining for years! New habits take time to develop. But you can begin today, and practice tomorrow, and the next day, until it becomes part of you. Erwin W. Lutzer (1941– )

As Jesus made His way to Jerusalem, He continued to teach His disciples and prepare them for what He would suffer there. But He was also preparing them for the time when He would no longer be with them and they would be ministering to others in His place. It was a critical period in their lives.

In this chapter, Luke recorded lessons that Jesus gave His disciples about some of the essentials of the Christian life: forgiveness (Luke 17:1-6), faithfulness (Luke 17:7-10), thankfulness (Luke 17:11-19), and preparedness (Luke 17:20-37). We’ll spend our time looking at faithfulness and thankfulness.

(Luke 17:7-10) Service—Ministry—Faithfulness—Labor—Steadfastness: to obey God is a duty not a service. There is danger that believers will become prideful and puffed up because of the gifts and power God gives, especially if they begin to live victoriously in faith as just described (Luke 17:5-6).

The introductory word but indicates that Jesus was now going to balance one lesson with another. There was a danger that the Twelve might get so carried away with transplanting trees that they would ignore the everyday responsibilities of life! Faith that does not result in faithfulness will not accomplish God’s work. It is good to have faith to do the difficult (Luke 17:1-3) and the impossible (Luke 17:4-6), but it is essential that we have faith to do even the routine tasks our Master has committed to us. Privileges must always be balanced with responsibilities.

The servant in the story was evidently a “jack-of-all-trades,” for he was responsible for farming, shepherding, and cooking. It was not unusual for people with only modest means to hire at least one servant, but Jesus described a situation which in that day was unthinkable: a master ministering to his servant! In fact, He introduced the story with a phrase that means, “Can any of you imagine. . . ?” Their answer had to be, “No, we cannot imagine such a thing!”

Jesus had already discussed His relationship to His servants and had promised to serve them if they were faithful (Luke 12:35-38). He Himself was among them as a servant (Luke 22:27), even though He was Master of all. This story emphasizes faithfulness to duty no matter what the demands might be, and the argument is from the lesser to the greater. If a common servant is faithful to obey the orders of his master who does not reward (thank) him, how much more ought Christ’s disciples obey their loving Master, who has promised to reward them graciously!

A faithful servant should not expect any special reward, since he did only what he was told to do. The word translated “unprofitable” means “without need”—that is, “nobody owes us anything.” The servant was indeed profitable; after all, he cared for his master’s fields, flocks, and food. The statement means, “My master does not owe me anything extra.” The fact that Jesus will reward His servants is wholly a matter of God’s grace. We do not deserve anything because we have obeyed Him and served Him.

As His servants, we must beware lest we have the wrong attitude toward our duties. There are two extremes to avoid: merely doing our duty in a slavish way because we have to, or doing our duty because we hope to gain a reward. Christian industrialist R.G. LeTourneau used to say, “If you give because it pays, it won’t pay.” This principle also applies to service. Both extremes are seen in the attitudes of the elder brother (Luke 15:25-32) who was miserably obedient, always hoping that his father would let him have a party with his friends.

What then is the proper attitude for Christian service? “Doing the will of God from the heart” (Eph. 6:6). “If you love Me, keep My commandments” (John 14:15, nkjv). To the person who is born again, “His commandments are not grievous” (1 John 5:3). Serving Him is a delight, not just a duty, and we obey Him because we love Him. “I delight to do Thy will, O my God: yea, Thy law is within my heart” (Ps. 40:8).

2. The believer is to serve and obey the commandments of God until all the work is done. He is to feed the cattle and plough the fields, then in the evenings he is to serve the household by feeding and waiting on tables. Ploughing and feeding are tough work, requiring a sound and disciplined body and spirit. They require endurance. Note that the servant labors all day and all through the evening until all others have gone to bed. He goes to bed after all others have retired, and he arises before all others arise. The servant serves his Master. (What a lesson Christ lays out for the believer! How few serve the Lord so diligently! How many arise before others in order to spend time alone with the Lord, and then spend the last minutes of a day with the Lord after all others have retired?)

3. The believer is to be humble in his service for the Lord. No matter what we do for Christ, it is our duty to do it. We are unworthy of the privilege to serve Him. We are to count ourselves “unprofitable servants.” No man can claim he has done all he should; we know this. We all come short, no matter how much we do or how great the work. There is no room for pride or arrogance or boasting. God commands perfection; therefore, He expects humility.

(17:11-19) Introduction: this passage teaches two powerful lessons, one on how to have needs met and the other on gratitude.

(17:12-14) Need—Cleansing—Faith—Perseverance—Prayer, Answer: the lesson on need—ten lepers are healed.

Between Luke 17:10 and 11, the events of John 11 occurred as the Lord Jesus made His way to Jerusalem. At the border of Samaria and Judea, Jesus healed ten lepers at one time, and the fact that the miracle involved a Samaritan made it even more significant (see Luke 10:30-37). Jesus used this event to teach a lesson about gratitude to God.

The account begins with ten unclean men (Luke 17:11-13), all of whom were lepers (see the comments on Luke 5:12-15). The Jews and Samaritans would not normally live together, but misery loves company and all ten were outcasts. What difference does birth make if you are experiencing a living death? But these men had hope, for Jesus was there, and they cried out for mercy. The word translated “master” is the same one Peter used (Luke 5:5) and means “chief commander.” They knew that Jesus was totally in command of even disease and death, and they trusted Him to help them.

The account continues by referring to nine ungrateful men (Luke 17:17). Jesus commanded the men to go show themselves to the priest, which in itself was an act of faith, for they had not yet been cured. When they turned to obey, they were completely healed, for their obedience was evidence of their faith (see 2 Kings 5:1-14).

You would have expected all ten men to run to Jesus and thank Him for a new start in life, but only one did so—and he was not even a Jew. How grateful the men should have been for the providence of God that brought Jesus into their area, for the love that caused Him to pay attention to them and their need, and for the grace and power of God that brought about their healing. They should have formed an impromptu men’s chorus and sung Psalm 103 together!

But before we judge them too harshly, what is our own “GQ”—“Gratitude Quotient”? How often do we take our blessings for granted and fail to thank the Lord? “Oh that men would praise the Lord for His goodness, and for His wonderful works to the children of men!” (Ps. 107:8, 15, 21, 31) Too often we are content to enjoy the gift but we forget the Giver. We are quick to pray but slow to praise.

The next time you sing “Now Thank We All Our God,” try to remember that Martin Rinkhart wrote it during the Thirty Years’ War when his pastoral duties were most difficult. He conducted as many as forty funerals a day, including that of his own wife; yet he wrote those beautiful words as a table grace for his family. In spite of war and plague around him and sorrow within him, he was able to give thanks to the Lord from a grateful heart.

Luke’s account closes with one unusual man (Luke 17:15-19). The Samaritan shouted “Glory to God!” and fell at Jesus’ feet to praise Him and give thanks. It would have been logical for him to have followed the other men and gone to the temple, but he first came to the Lord Jesus with his sacrifice of praise (Ps. 107:22; Heb. 13:15). This pleased the Lord more than all the sacrifices the other men offered, even though they were obeying the Law (Ps. 51:15-17). Instead of going to the priest, the Samaritan became a priest, and he built his altar at the feet of Jesus (read Ps. 116:12-19).

By coming to Jesus, the man received something greater than physical healing: he was also saved from his sins. Jesus said, “Your faith has saved you” (literal translation), the same words He spoke to the repentant woman who anointed His feet (Luke 7:50). The Samaritan’s nine friends were declared clean by the priest, but he was declared saved by the Son of God! While it is wonderful to experience the miracle of physical healing, it is even more wonderful to experience the miracle of eternal salvation.

Every child of God should cultivate the grace of gratitude. It not only opens the heart to further blessings but glorifies and pleases the Father. An unthankful heart is fertile soil for all kinds of sins (Rom. 1:21ff).

1. There was desperation. The men had leprosy, the most feared disease of that day. They met Jesus as He was entering the city, coming in from a long journey. The lepers had no idea where He was going: He could have been heading for an important meeting, or He could have been tired and exhausted, or He could have had no time for interruptions; but the lepers did not care. They were so desperate they would interrupt Him no matter what. One thing is basic to having a need met: a sense of desperation. When we sense a need so desperately that nothing can stop us from reaching Jesus, our needs will be met.

2. There was humility. Note: they “stood afar off.” They respected the law which demanded they stand at least six feet away from a person. These lepers were, of course, many yards away from Jesus because of the large crowd following Him. They showed a great respect for the law by remaining on the outskirts of the crowd. On other occasions those seeking healing had ignored the law, bursting through crowds and running up to Jesus. Jesus was bound to note their humility and their acknowledgment of being unclean.

a. They called Jesus “Master.” The Greek word for “Master” is not Rabbi, the Teacher; but it is epistata, which means the Chief, the Commander, the Overseer, the One who has the power to meet needs. Note: the need is not for instruction (Rabbi), but for healing; and by healing, they meant both the cleansing of their physical bodies and the spiritual sin which had caused their disease. The Jews always connected leprosy with sin, so this is definitely what they meant. They recognized Jesus to be the Master who could cleanse both the body and spirit, who could give them both healing and forgiveness of sins.

b. They cried out for mercy. They did not ask only for physical healing; they asked for spiritual healing, for the forgiveness of sins as well. They cried out for mercy upon all of their being.

4. There was perseverance. Jesus did not notice them immediately. He ignored their cry in order to test them. They needed to cry and cry for mercy in order to show their sincerity and to build up their sense of need. These two things are important to note. God does not always answer our prayers immediately. Sometimes we need to learn to trust Him more or to build up a greater sense of need and desperation. Forcing us to seek and knock and persevere does both. Once God answers our prayer, we learn to trust Him more. There is another crucial matter as well. Forcing us to stay on our knees and to persevere in prayer day after day keeps us in His presence. Deep concentrated prayer provides some of the sweetest communion and fellowship ever experienced, and such communion and fellowship is what God is after.

5. There was believing and obeying. Jesus did not heal the lepers immediately. There were things they had to do, instructions that had to be obeyed to have their needs met. They were to obey the law, go to the priest and report that they had been cleansed. If they obeyed the law and believed the Lord’s Word (promise of cleansing) they would be cleansed. Now note: they were cleansed “as they went.” This was a great legacy of faith to leave for succeeding generations (cp. Hebrews 11:7f). Think about the great belief they had in Jesus’ word and power! They had to strike out for the temple to be inspected and pronounced cleansed—and they were not even healed yet! While they were obeying the Jewish law of cleansing they were to be healed (Leviticus 14:1f).

(17:15-19) Gratitude: there are five points to note on the lesson of gratitude.

1. All the lepers were blessed and should have been thankful. This was true of the ten lepers, and it should be true of every man. Every one of the ten should have turned back and given thanks. They had all been blessed by Christ. Note they had all...

Their need had been met: they had all been healed. They now needed to turn back and give thanks and show appreciation.

a. He glorified God immediately. He shouted at the top of his lungs with the loudest voice possible. He witnessed for God. God had cleansed him and he wanted all to know the great mercy and love of God.

b. He worshipped Jesus. Note that he fell down on his face at the feet of Jesus. This was both humility and recognition of the power of God in Christ, two essentials for true spiritual cleansing (salvation, Luke 17:19).

3. Most did not give thanks. They kept going about their business at hand. They did not stop what they were doing nor return to the Lord to give thanks. But note something: they did return to their former world, the lives they used to live.

4. The most rejected was the most thankful. Note the word “stranger” (allogenes, Luke 17:18). It means that he was a “stranger from the covenants of promise, having no hope, and without God in the world” (Ephes. 2:12). He had felt his need more keenly and deeply. He knew he needed to be saved, genuinely saved—spiritually as well as physically. Despite the fact that he had never known the real promises of God and that he had been without God in this world, he now knew God. His heart just broke forth to give glory to God. Jesus had saved him from so much.

5. The thankful man shall be the one truly saved—spiritually. The verb “made whole” (sesoken) is literally “has saved you.” The man was clearly whole in body. This could be easily seen, but one could not see the spiritual and inward cleansing. Jesus was telling the man that his sins were forgiven; He was giving the man the assurance of salvation.

Now note an important question. Had the nine been spiritually cleansed as well as physically cleansed? Or was it lack of being spiritually cleansed that kept them from returning to give thanks? Or was Jesus just giving this man a strong assurance of salvation?

We are not told, but one crucial factor is known. This man, the grateful and thankful leper, was the man who received assurance of being cleansed and of having his sins forgiven. The others did not. They failed in being grateful and thankful.

Another important fact to note is this: gratitude and praise bring assurance to the heart. It stirs Christ to speak to the human heart, giving assurance of acceptance and cleansing.

(Plantation is a suburb of Fort Lauderdale...just 10 minutes north of Miami-Dade County, in the heart of college and pro sports country, and 20 minutes from the Atlantic Ocean). Last modified: April 18, 2006