7th December 2014

Thanksgiving
Pastor Muyiwa Olubowale
Text:
And as he entered a village, he was met by ten lepers, who stood at a distance and lifted up their
voices, saying, Jesus, Master, have mercy on us. When he saw them he said to them, Go and
show yourselves to the priests. And as they went they were cleansed. Then one of them, when he
saw that he was healed, turned back, praising God with a loud voice; and he fell on his face at
Jesus 'feet, giving him thanks. Now he was a Samaritan. Then Jesus answered, Were not ten
cleansed? Where are the nine? Was no one found to return and give praise to God except this
foreigner? And he said to him, Rise and go your way; your faith has made you well.
Luke 17:12-19
Thanksgiving is an attitude we need to constantly display. We need to be grateful in the little things
as well as the big things. We mustnt take anything for granted.
My soul continually remembers it, and is bowed down within me. But this I call to mind, and
therefore I have hope (Lam 3:20-21)
We should be grateful even for the gift of life because life is not a right, it is a privilege.
In the example of the ten lepers in our text we learn three things from the way the leper showed his
appreciation for the fact that he had been healed.
- He praised Jesus
- He worshipped Jesus
- He thanked Jesus
Jesus was amazed that of all the ones that were healed, it was the Samaritan - i.e. the non-jew who came back to give thanks. It suggests that the jews took what they had received for granted.
They had an attitude of entitlement, just like an employee would be entitled to a wage at the end of
the day. However,the Samaritan had a different mentality. He knew he was not entitled to the
blessings of Abraham. He also knew that being a leper he was not even entitled to be amongst
others - lepers were excluded from the rest of society. Therefore, when the healing came he was
grateful because he knew he had received something he had not earned.
Just like the tenth leper, we need to understand that everything we have is a blessing and gift from
God.
There are three things we ought to thank God for:
- for what he has done
- for what he is doing
- for what he will do
Relating the above to the example of the tenth leper we can say that:
- We thank God for what he was done
- We praise him for what he is doing
- We worship him for what he will do. Worship is not an expression of what God has done but
comes from the realisation of who God is and that whatever our needs might be in the future
he is able to meet them.

- giving thanks is the will of God

- giving thanks is an act of worship
- a thankful attitude is an expression of faith - it shows that we understand who God is. It is the
secret to answered prayers.

- giving thanks is the gateway to God

Enter his gates with thanksgiving, and his courts with praise!, Give thanks to him; bless his name
(psalm 100:4)
In nothing be anxious; but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your
requests be made known unto God (Phil 4:6)
By giving thanks we get the full blessing that is in the Gift God has for us.
In the words of Matthew Henry: It becomes us, like him, to be very humble in thanksgivings, as
well as in prayers. Christ noticed the one who thus distinguished himself, he was a Samaritan. The
others only got the outward cure, he alone got the spiritual blessing
(Matthew Henrys Concise Commentary on the Whole Bible)