In just a few days we will celebrate Thanksgiving. This is one of those special days that mean different things to different people. To some it means gathering with friends and family that you haven't seen in a while. To others it means parades and football. Still others look at the special day to introduce the Christmas shopping season with a vengeance. Unfortunately, holidays can bring out the worst in people. They can be a time to be stressed out. I recently read of a man who was charged with assaulting his wife on Thanksgiving. Apparently he became enraged that his Thanksgiving turkey was not defrosted. So he went out in the parking lot of their apartment complex and threw the frozen bird and a pie on the pavement. It gets worse. When his wife gathered up her child to flee, he hurled the frozen bird at the car, breaking the windshield and ended up spending Thanksgiving in jail. Now that is not what Thanksgiving is supposed to be about. [2]
I also read of the cartoon character, Bart Simpson, who was asked to say grace over the meal. He prays, "Dear God, we paid for all this stuff ourselves, so thanks for nothing!" Does that shock us? It shouldn't. The world doesn't have a clue to the essence of Thanksgiving.
A brief history of Thanksgiving reveals that it began with the Pilgrims in 1621 and was reaffirmed in 1623 by Governor Bradford. George Washington proclaimed a day Thanksgiving in 1789, but later Thomas Jefferson stopped it. In 1863 President Lincoln proclaimed a day of Thanksgiving, for North and South. However it didn't become a national holiday until Congress gave final approval in 1941.
I was looking for information in the Encarta encyclopedia and found this interesting observation. "Thanksgiving has largely shed its original religious meaning (as a feast of giving thanks to God) to become a celebration of the bounty of food and the warmth of family life in America."
With so much for which to be thankful, we become a nation that has chosen to move away from thankfulness to God. We, like the Bart Simpson character, seem to be saying to God, 'Thanks for nothing!' Of course this really isn't new at all. Ingratitude has been around a long time.
Note: Luke 17:11-18
I. Consider These Men
A. They knew their need - it was real.
1. Leprosy was a desperate need.
2. All of us have been like one of these men at one time or another.
3. We have had REAL needs.
4. Desperate needs that only God could meet.
B. They knew Who could provide for their need.
1. There was no medicine.
2. There were no treatment facilities.
3. There was no hope apart from God intervening on their behalf.
4. When we have real needs; when we need a miracle, we go to God; we cry out to Him in desperation.
5. We get real serious with God.
C. 9 of the 10 failed to thank Him for supplying their need.
1. 90% ingratitude.
2. Why? Why at one moment did they need God so much, and as soon as their need was met, all but one forgot Him?
II. It's Called Indifference.
A. It is the height of arrogance:
1. To receive a blessing from God and then fail to thank Him for it!
2. We teach our children to say please and thank you to adults and others…but what about our example?
3. I was telling some of a story I had heard about a little boy who went to a friend's house for supper.
4. 'You're just like my dog!'
B. This is a prevalent attitude among believers today!
1. We continue to receive blessings from God on a daily basis, but show our indifference to Him.
2. How? by our lack of faithfulness to worship services.
3. By our refusal to commit to serving Him through our local church. (begging people to visit, teach, help in nursery, sing in choir, etc.)
4. By our lack of generosity in giving.
5. We have become a group of spoiled, expecting people!
6. Illustration of my grandson or nearly any child today. "Hey that's mine!"
C. This attitude grieves the Lord.
1. Jesus asks, "Where are the nine?"
2. Ten were cleansed, but only one came to offer thanks to God for such a wonderful blessing.
3. You say, 'Shame on them!' and rightfully so, but shame on us as well.
4. I have a jack in my car, I don't think about it very often, but I want it there just in case I need it.
5. For many, that is how they view the Lord, we want Him nearby when we need Him, but other than that we don't think much about Him.
III. The Cure for Indifference
A. Thankfulness and thanksgiving is a direct result of our relationship with Christ.
1. If we have no relationship, there will be no thankfulness.
2. If Jesus isn't real to us, we won't be thankful to Him.
3. But if we have a fresh, vital relationship with Christ, we will not take Him for granted.
4. Instead, we will desire to serve Him, which is the cure for indifference.
B. God expects us to praise Him. (Psa 150:6) Let every thing that hath breath praise the LORD. Praise ye the LORD.
C. The best way to give gratitude to the Lord.
1. Believe in Jesus as our Savior.
a. Ten men were touched by the healing power of Jesus.
b. Only one realized that what had happened deserved a personal, heartfelt response to the Savior.
c. Have you ever publicly responded to Jesus?
d. Or are you ashamed to acknowledge him?
2. Live as if Jesus is our Lord.
a. Gratitude is best shown by actions, not words.
b. Genuine faith bears good fruit.
(Eph 2:8-10) For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God: {9} Not of works, lest any man should boast. {10} For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus unto good works, which God hath before ordained that we should walk in them.
3. Commit every area of our life to Him.
a. Christ's victory over sin and death is our greatest cause for thanks.
(1 Cor 15:57) But thanks be to God, which giveth us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ.
b. Do everything in name of Jesus.
(Col 3:17) And whatsoever ye do in word or deed, do all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God and the Father by him.
c. Trust in Him, even through adversity and calamity.
(Prov 3:5) Trust in the LORD with all thine heart; and lean not unto thine own understanding.