One little attitude that can change your life! Luke 17:11-19

(watch sermon here)

We are entering a holiday season that will quickly become filled with snow, stores, and Santa. But before we get to that “big” holiday, we reach another holiday that is often overlooked or misused: Thanksgiving. The day is much more than food, family, fun, and football. It is meant to be a significant season of reflection and thanks. So in the spirit of Thanksgiving, I would like to read a bit of American history:

(The following is taken from www.christiananswers.net)

Lincoln's original 1863 Thanksgiving Proclamation came - spiritually speaking - at a pivotal point in his life. During the first week of July of that year, the Battle of Gettysburg occurred, resulting in the loss of some 60,000 American lives. Four months later in November, Lincoln delivered his famous "Gettsysburg Address." It was while Lincoln was walking among the thousands of graves there at Gettysburg that he committed his life to Christ. As he explained to a friend:

• "When I left Springfield [to assume the Presidency] I asked the people to pray for me. I was not a Christian. When I buried my son, the severest trial of my life, I was not a Christian. But when I went to Gettysburg and saw the graves of thousands of our soldiers, I then and there consecrated myself to Christ."

The Pilgrims left Plymouth, England, on September 6, 1620. Their destination? The New World. Although filled with uncertainty and peril, it offered both civil and religious liberty. For over two months, the 102 passengers braved the harsh elements of a vast storm-tossed sea. Finally, with firm purpose and a reliance on Divine Providence, the cry of "Land!" was heard.

Arriving in Massachusetts in late November, the Pilgrims sought a suitable landing place. On December 11, just before disembarking at Plymouth Rock, they signed the "Mayflower Compact" - America's first document of civil government and the first to introduce self-government.

After a prayer service, the Pilgrims began building hasty shelters. However, unprepared for the starvation and sickness of a harsh New England winter, nearly half died before spring (they dug more graves than house foundations). Yet, persevering in prayer, and assisted by helpful Indians, they reaped a bountiful harvest the following summer.

The grateful Pilgrims then declared a three-day feast, starting on December 13, 1621, to thank God and to celebrate with their Indian friends. While this was not the first Thanksgiving in America (thanksgiving services were held in Virginia as early as 1607), it was America's first Thanksgiving Festival.

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This month we are going to look at a rare attitude called gratitude.
It is one little attitude that can change your life!

We live in a world that says:
I want…
I need…
I deserve…

The pervasive mindset of our culture is
ENTITLEMENT

Thankfulness is difficult to find!

Today we need to peel away the layers of discontent and ingratitude that permeate our society!

Luke 17

Verse 11
Jesus was on his way to Jerusalem, but went out of his way to enter this village. It is easy to forget that we did not find God – but He found us! We did not find God! Jesus came to seek and to save the lost – Luke 19:10.

Verse 12
Ten men who were withering away because of a disease. quarantined from the rest of society. given up all hope of recovery. Their lives were now filled with torment, with loneliness, with thoughts of how things used to be better. Their only lot left in life was to wait for the end. It was a tragic existence.

Verse 13
"Jesus" – they called him by name. They lived in a small village in the middle of nowhere, and they were cut off from society, but news about Jesus had still reached them! Has news about Jesus reached your home? Have you heard how he is changing lives on a regular basis here at Berean Master – this was certainly the first time they had ever seen or talked to Jesus. Yet they address him as their master, or chief commander. What term would you use to describe Jesus this morning?
"Please show mercy on us!" They literally had nowhere else to turn. Jesus was their only hope. And he is your only hope as well. Are you calling out for help to the right person?

Verse 14
Jesus could have ignored them. Most people in his day did. His disciples probably did. Lepers were highly feared
“Go show yourselves to the priests” (see Lev. 13:2-3, 14:2-32) This was the greatest moment of their lives happened: their leprosy vanished!

Verse 15
The men certainly would have broken into a sprint! They couldn’t wait to get to the priests and be declared clean and get their certificate! Their lives were about to become normal. One of the men did not run – instead he turned around. He began glorifying God in a loud voice on his way back to Jesus!!!

Verse 16
He ran to Jesus and threw himself at Jesus’ feet. Completely overwhelmed by the kindness of Jesus, he refuses to stand in his presence. A few minutes ago he was a leper banished to the fringes of society – untouchable, unloved, waiting to die. Now he is a new man – healed completely of his terminal disease. One little attitude…

At the Catalyst conference there was a young man from Africa speaking about how a Compassion International sponsor had changed his life. At the end of the interview, the interviewer asked this young man if he had ever met his sponsor. As he shook his head no, the interviewer motioned him to turn around - and he saw his sponser walking towards him. It was a moment none of us will ever forget - as the young man dropped down onto the stage sobbing. He literally collapsed before 11,000 people. All we could do was sit and watch - as his gratitude overwhelmed him...in the presence of the man who changed his life!

Verse 17
Jesus asks a haunting question: “Where are the other nine?” They were running to get their lives back. Satan will do anything to sow the seeds of discontent in our hearts:

• Forgetfulness – losing sight of what God has already done in my life!
• Selfishness – being so consumed with the difficulty of my problems that I cannot see how God is working through these problems to make me more like Christ
• Lack of trust – being unwilling to thank God for the master plan that he is slowly weaving through my life and the lives of those around me
• Ingratitude – not stopping to reflect and thank God for touching my life in the past & present
• Discontent – focusing and dwelling on how things ought to be instead of focusing and dwelling on how great God is
  

As a child, one of my favorite games to play with my family was "Button button, who’s got the button." One of us would strategically hide an army man or matchbox car for the rest of us to find. At times the finder had to give hints like "you are getting hotter" when the item was nearly impossible to find! How hard does God have to look to find gratefulness in your heart?

Gratitude is an attitude that says:

• You are God and I am not
• I am overwhelmed (not entitled) by your blessings
• I brag on your constantly!
• If you stop blessing me tomorrow, you would have already given me more than I ever deserved!

Verse 18
The least likely person to return was the only one to return – a foreigner. Last Sunday the Good Samaritan was the unlikely hero. Today a healed Samaritan is unlikely example. Gratitude is a little attitude that is often displayed in the most unlikely places!

Verse 19
“Your faith has made you well” – the wording of this statement indicates Jesus was talking about a complete healing – one that exceeded physical healing from leprosy. This word: “saved” or “made you well” is talking about deliverance, divine salvation! The other nine experienced the first blessing, but not the second. Their bodies were healed, but their souls were untouched. This one man, who ran back to thank Jesus, experienced inner healing too.

When is the last time you ran back to Jesus to thank him?
We need to learn to give thanks in all things! (1 Thess. 5:18)

Here is a new way of looking at your world:

Lord, thank you for...

• that broken relationship – it keeps me humble
• the trouble in my life - it keeps me dependent on you
• my financial difficulties– draw me closer to you, allows me to see your hand of provision
• inconveniences – it makes me appreciate how good I have it!

I believe today Jesus is calling out: “Where are the others? Is only one found to return and give thanks to God?!!!”

One small attitude of gratitude can permeate my life and those around me. Have you ever met an extremely grateful person? Consider the young girl Pollyanna. Her world was won by her overwhelming gratitude, and her refusal to complain when everyone around her was belly-aching.

Choose to have that little attitude called gratitude, and you will be a fish swimming upstream. Choose to take nothing for granted and you will find your mind consumed with humility and gratitude towards God and others. It is when we focus on ourselves, our problems, and our needs that our lives become tragic. We miss the joy God has intended for us. All because we lack a small little attitude called gratitude! Learn it, and it can change your life!

Your homework: Take a piece of paper and a pen, and create a list with things you are grateful for! You should not run out!!! When you are finished, read Psalm 100!