WEBVTT 00:00:00.000 --> 00:00:05.660 There's an article entitled 25 matters every child should know by the time they're nine. 00:00:06.500 --> 00:00:12.140 And number one on the list is when asking for something, say... 00:00:16.140 --> 00:00:17.260 Sorry? 00:00:17.839 --> 00:00:18.879 Let me do it again. 00:00:19.080 --> 00:00:20.760 When asking for something, say... 00:00:20.760 --> 00:00:21.140 Please. 00:00:21.379 --> 00:00:21.780 Please. 00:00:22.039 --> 00:00:22.500 Thank you. 00:00:22.679 --> 00:00:23.120 Fantastic. 00:00:23.900 --> 00:00:25.859 Which is number two on the list. 00:00:25.859 --> 00:00:27.859 When receiving something, say... 00:00:27.859 --> 00:00:28.820 Thank you. 00:00:29.199 --> 00:00:29.699 Fantastic. 00:00:30.219 --> 00:00:32.000 That's the sort of thing that my mother taught me. 00:00:32.200 --> 00:00:34.060 Maybe some of you are still learning that. 00:00:34.859 --> 00:00:35.520 You don't know what it's most. 00:00:35.880 --> 00:00:37.579 But something that my... 00:00:37.579 --> 00:00:39.780 It's fair to say that my parents taught me. 00:00:39.960 --> 00:00:42.140 But because it's Mother's Day, let's just grab it over with it. 00:00:42.799 --> 00:00:44.019 Something that my mother taught me. 00:00:44.060 --> 00:00:49.240 Good manners that I'd be reminded of often if I didn't use them. 00:00:50.079 --> 00:00:54.879 And this story that Deb just read out is one of those stories that my mum would love. 00:00:55.060 --> 00:00:56.299 Ten people are sick. 00:00:56.760 --> 00:00:57.460 They get healed. 00:00:57.460 --> 00:01:00.240 But only one returns to say thank you. 00:01:00.340 --> 00:01:02.740 The lesson, thank yous are really important. 00:01:03.740 --> 00:01:04.719 Are you one of the... 00:01:04.719 --> 00:01:06.739 Are you the one or are you one of the nine? 00:01:07.420 --> 00:01:08.159 End of story. 00:01:08.879 --> 00:01:10.659 Except not quite. 00:01:10.819 --> 00:01:12.799 There is a little bit more to it here. 00:01:13.299 --> 00:01:18.379 There is a big difference between saying thank you and in fact being thankful. 00:01:18.379 --> 00:01:27.259 Dad would quickly remind me if I'd forgotten my manners and particularly if mum wasn't the recipient of my manners. 00:01:27.939 --> 00:01:31.840 And he would say something like, get over there and say thank you to your mother. 00:01:33.659 --> 00:01:36.719 And of course I would oblige because he requested it of me. 00:01:36.719 --> 00:01:40.539 And I'd go over there and I'd go, thank you. 00:01:41.340 --> 00:01:42.700 Oh please. 00:01:43.840 --> 00:01:47.260 It's the sort of things my kids do at the moment to me. 00:01:47.760 --> 00:01:49.799 And so they're just as simple as I was. 00:01:49.799 --> 00:01:57.640 And that is, the words come out of the mouth but the heart's not in it. 00:01:58.359 --> 00:02:05.799 And my dad would say things to me like, if you're really thankful then you should tell your face because it doesn't seem to know it. 00:02:05.799 --> 00:02:10.800 And it's amazing how those... 00:02:11.400 --> 00:02:15.659 I just say that to my kids as well. 00:02:15.979 --> 00:02:18.159 It's scary how much I say it to them now. 00:02:19.340 --> 00:02:23.159 It's, I think, one of the rarest virtues of the human race is gratitude. 00:02:24.780 --> 00:02:33.599 Alexander White, the most eminent Scottish preacher of the 19th century, once visited an elderly parishioner. 00:02:33.599 --> 00:02:39.900 And this elderly parishioner complained and whinged at length about everything and everyone. 00:02:40.579 --> 00:02:41.620 Nothing was right. 00:02:41.819 --> 00:02:43.900 Family and church and everything like that. 00:02:43.979 --> 00:02:51.939 And finally, with his hand in his hand, White stood up, bid her goodbye and walked out to go out the door. 00:02:52.060 --> 00:02:57.519 And the only thing he said to her was to quote from Psalm 103 verse 2. 00:02:58.079 --> 00:03:03.479 Praise the Lord, O my soul, and forget not all his benefits. 00:03:03.599 --> 00:03:06.019 He got tired of grumbling. 00:03:08.979 --> 00:03:20.740 Now, fearlessness is not new to our time, but it's also true to say that never have people had so much and been so ungrateful. 00:03:20.740 --> 00:03:25.860 I saw a microcosm on it the other day. 00:03:27.200 --> 00:03:28.240 Had a packet of chips. 00:03:28.500 --> 00:03:29.480 This is before she had a benefit. 00:03:30.100 --> 00:03:30.980 Had a packet of chips. 00:03:32.420 --> 00:03:35.840 Opened a packet of chips and got three bowls, three little bowls out. 00:03:36.300 --> 00:03:37.540 And put chips in three little bowls. 00:03:37.760 --> 00:03:38.740 My girls were watching TV. 00:03:38.900 --> 00:03:40.260 Walked in the lounge and we gave them the chips. 00:03:40.360 --> 00:03:41.379 And they went, oh, chips. 00:03:41.660 --> 00:03:42.020 Fantastic. 00:03:42.760 --> 00:03:44.080 And they all had the bowls. 00:03:44.280 --> 00:03:45.060 And quick smart. 00:03:45.159 --> 00:03:48.920 One of them looked at the other two bowls and went, hey, she's got more than me. 00:03:51.020 --> 00:03:54.860 And I think it was a spirit-empowered moment on my behalf. 00:03:55.100 --> 00:03:57.920 As I turned the walk out and said, ten seconds ago, you had none. 00:03:57.919 --> 00:04:11.539 Now, in that moment of trying to bring a little bit of reality in this scenario, something you got, received, you didn't ask for it, you just received it. 00:04:11.779 --> 00:04:14.199 And you're complaining that someone's got one more chip in you. 00:04:16.180 --> 00:04:17.159 A bit of reality. 00:04:18.539 --> 00:04:24.500 But as I walked from the lounge and the kitchen, I'd use that interaction just to pierce my heart a little bit and say, Steve, that's you. 00:04:24.500 --> 00:04:27.459 That's you. 00:04:27.660 --> 00:04:28.740 That's your heart. 00:04:28.920 --> 00:04:30.180 It might not be about chips. 00:04:30.759 --> 00:04:31.959 Because I had a rest of that. 00:04:34.060 --> 00:04:35.980 It might not be about chips, but about something else. 00:04:36.680 --> 00:04:41.160 There's a bunch of other stuff where that is just your heart. 00:04:46.040 --> 00:04:53.220 Ungratefulness, though flourishing in our culture, has always been endemic into the human soul. 00:04:53.220 --> 00:04:56.820 Christian community is not immune. 00:04:57.600 --> 00:05:04.320 The contemporary diseases that afflict others attaches themselves to Christians as well. 00:05:04.780 --> 00:05:17.920 And in some cases, apart from hasty prayers of thanks at meals, no one would ever know that Christians have every reason to be grateful people as the recipients of God's grace. 00:05:17.920 --> 00:05:25.720 So the account of the ten lepers in Luke 17 addresses this issue in a really powerful way. 00:05:26.420 --> 00:05:30.140 Ten leprous men stood before Jesus in various stages of decay. 00:05:31.120 --> 00:05:35.240 They had what is a highly infectious disease. 00:05:35.900 --> 00:05:40.200 Their clothing is torn from never-ending mourning. 00:05:41.139 --> 00:05:43.720 Their skeletal heads are uncovered. 00:05:43.720 --> 00:05:47.520 They look as if they had just climbed out of the grave. 00:05:48.480 --> 00:06:00.260 But they were alive and they were sensitive human beings, feeling souls living in the netherworld of society's fringe while they literally, and I mean quite literally, rotted away. 00:06:00.259 --> 00:06:14.920 Immediately, upon leprousy being discovered, what would happen is that the priests, who were the health workers in those days, would remove them from society. 00:06:15.279 --> 00:06:16.379 Immediately remove them from society. 00:06:16.560 --> 00:06:17.379 No going home. 00:06:17.539 --> 00:06:18.620 No kissing the kids goodbye. 00:06:18.800 --> 00:06:19.800 No saying goodbye to the wife. 00:06:19.860 --> 00:06:20.719 No packing a bag. 00:06:20.720 --> 00:06:30.540 Immediately, no longer able to hold and to kiss your spouse or to pick up the children or the grandchildren and to give them a hug. 00:06:30.640 --> 00:06:33.000 No more shopping down at Westfield. 00:06:33.380 --> 00:06:34.940 No eating with your friends. 00:06:35.100 --> 00:06:35.920 No holidays. 00:06:36.220 --> 00:06:37.760 Your working life is over. 00:06:38.680 --> 00:06:46.200 You watch as your extremities drop away and become deformed in splendid isolation. 00:06:46.199 --> 00:06:51.879 Leviticus 13.45 gives it the instruction of the community of God's people. 00:06:52.000 --> 00:07:02.019 It says, anyone with such a defiling disease must wear torn clothes, let their hair be unkempt, cover the lower part of their face and cry out, unclean, unclean. 00:07:03.060 --> 00:07:07.879 As long as they have the disease, they remain unclean and they must live alone. 00:07:08.740 --> 00:07:10.199 They must live outside the camp. 00:07:10.800 --> 00:07:13.159 It is quite literally the life of the living dead. 00:07:13.160 --> 00:07:16.680 Who would want the life of a leper? 00:07:18.680 --> 00:07:30.520 In verse 11, we are told where Jesus is, but also where he is heading to when he confronts the ten men from the living dead. 00:07:30.940 --> 00:07:33.360 It says, now on his way to Jerusalem. 00:07:34.379 --> 00:07:39.980 The second half of Luke's gospel reveals that Jesus is determined to go to Jerusalem. 00:07:39.980 --> 00:07:46.920 Luke 9.51 says that he resolutely set his face to Jerusalem. 00:07:47.439 --> 00:07:50.580 He's determined to get to Jerusalem. 00:07:51.580 --> 00:07:55.680 And he's heading there to the place of his death by execution. 00:07:56.620 --> 00:07:59.620 It's the place of mercy and rescue and healing. 00:07:59.879 --> 00:08:06.660 It's the place of mercy and rescue and healing from a disease that is the spiritual equivalent of leprosy. 00:08:06.660 --> 00:08:09.640 And it's for our sake. 00:08:10.500 --> 00:08:14.240 It's the sin that alienates and leaves me among the living dead. 00:08:15.020 --> 00:08:20.780 And Luke tells us that this mercy and this rescue and this healing is the reason why Jesus came. 00:08:22.480 --> 00:08:23.820 He tells us that again. 00:08:23.819 --> 00:08:34.580 Now, as if this story that we're about to see is about that mercy and that rescue and that healing and not just about good manners. 00:08:34.580 --> 00:08:40.580 On his way to Jerusalem, Jesus is confronted by ten lepers. 00:08:40.900 --> 00:08:42.879 It's on the outskirts of an unnamed village. 00:08:44.100 --> 00:08:46.920 In no man's land between Samaria and Galilee. 00:08:47.560 --> 00:08:49.920 Just the place for the living dead, the land of limbo. 00:08:51.400 --> 00:08:56.000 And from a safe distance, they shout out their plea to Jesus in verse 13. 00:08:56.000 --> 00:09:01.340 Jesus, Master, have pity on us. 00:09:03.340 --> 00:09:07.120 They will lay out and they will persist and literally have mercy on us. 00:09:07.240 --> 00:09:08.179 Master, have mercy. 00:09:08.559 --> 00:09:10.320 Mercy, please, Jesus. 00:09:14.279 --> 00:09:16.879 Once Jesus saw them, he immediately responded. 00:09:17.779 --> 00:09:23.460 However, at this time, it was not the touch that he had previously did with the leper. 00:09:23.460 --> 00:09:30.940 And neither was there the pronouncement of be clean from a distance, like in Luke 5, verse 13. 00:09:31.440 --> 00:09:35.940 He simply told them, go and show yourselves to the priests. 00:09:37.780 --> 00:09:42.740 Now, the command there was to do what a cured leper would do. 00:09:44.280 --> 00:09:49.360 The regulation of Leviticus 14 required examination by the priests. 00:09:49.360 --> 00:09:54.159 And if they were cured, the priest says, yep, thumbs up, no more leprosy. 00:09:54.960 --> 00:10:00.460 They would joyfully, from that moment, undergo an eight-day ceremony. 00:10:01.460 --> 00:10:06.720 And at the end of that eight days, they would be reunited with family, friends, and back into normal life. 00:10:08.120 --> 00:10:10.620 And so Jesus' command here required faith. 00:10:10.620 --> 00:10:15.039 After all, it was a long way to the temple. 00:10:15.460 --> 00:10:17.500 And Jesus, can't you see I've got leprosy? 00:10:17.580 --> 00:10:19.120 My toes are falling off. 00:10:20.779 --> 00:10:25.740 I'm going to have to go through Jerusalem to get to the temple. 00:10:25.740 --> 00:10:37.220 And they would be fools to turn up and to realize that in actual fact, the leprosy is still there. 00:10:38.519 --> 00:10:42.799 But on the other hand, they had everything to gain and nothing to lose. 00:10:44.180 --> 00:10:47.560 And so they set off at their stumbling leprosy pace. 00:10:47.559 --> 00:10:53.559 The second half of verse 14 says that as they went, they were cleansed. 00:10:54.259 --> 00:10:54.959 It's a mass healing. 00:10:56.199 --> 00:10:58.339 Now, there were no mirrors in those days. 00:10:59.039 --> 00:11:00.639 But they saw it in each other instantly. 00:11:00.839 --> 00:11:02.119 Hey, Bob, you've got a nose. 00:11:03.419 --> 00:11:04.159 Sort of thing. 00:11:06.519 --> 00:11:13.399 From death-like faces re-emerged ears and noses and eyebrows and eyelashes and hairlines and feet, 00:11:13.399 --> 00:11:18.439 which were toadless and ulcerated studs were suddenly whole and knobbly hands grew fingers 00:11:18.439 --> 00:11:21.840 and bunicled skin was soft and subtle. 00:11:22.000 --> 00:11:25.399 It was like ten new births. 00:11:27.000 --> 00:11:29.779 A wild celebration would have quickly begun. 00:11:33.100 --> 00:11:35.379 Among the ten lepers was the Samaritan. 00:11:35.379 --> 00:11:43.320 And according to John 4, verse 9, Jews did not associate with Samaritans. 00:11:43.439 --> 00:11:45.639 Samaritans did not associate with Jews. 00:11:46.679 --> 00:11:49.740 They were bitter enemies of one another. 00:11:52.460 --> 00:11:56.860 But these men had been united by their common misery. 00:11:58.539 --> 00:12:04.799 Nine Jews and one Samaritan in a suffering community. 00:12:05.379 --> 00:12:14.820 And when the healing occurred, the Samaritan was seized with an irresistible emotion of gratitude. 00:12:16.460 --> 00:12:21.559 Captive to his spontaneous gratitude, he put off going to the temple. 00:12:21.639 --> 00:12:22.559 He didn't go there. 00:12:23.220 --> 00:12:26.539 Put off going to the temple to rush back to see Jesus. 00:12:28.340 --> 00:12:31.039 The ceremonial clean bill of health could wait. 00:12:31.039 --> 00:12:35.059 His family, his friends, his business can wait. 00:12:35.179 --> 00:12:36.379 The shopping can wait. 00:12:38.860 --> 00:12:42.959 The thankful Samaritan knew he had to thank for his healing. 00:12:43.620 --> 00:12:45.759 He had to thank God and he had to thank Jesus. 00:12:46.759 --> 00:12:48.959 He did not know that the two were in fact one. 00:12:51.059 --> 00:12:54.259 First, he said thank you to God. 00:12:54.259 --> 00:13:02.299 Verse 15, one of them, when he saw he was healed, came back praising God in a loud voice. 00:13:04.919 --> 00:13:08.360 Earlier, he had loudly cried out for mercy. 00:13:08.360 --> 00:13:13.080 And now he was loudly crying out in praise. 00:13:13.080 --> 00:13:23.879 The original language here for loud voice, the meaning of it is recognisable to the English ear. 00:13:24.680 --> 00:13:38.259 The original language is phonase megaleus, which we flip around and join together as megaphones. 00:13:39.400 --> 00:13:40.080 Megaphone. 00:13:40.080 --> 00:13:45.639 It was a megaphone praise of God. 00:13:46.240 --> 00:13:48.139 Loud praise to God. 00:13:48.660 --> 00:13:51.180 And then he thanked Jesus in verse 16. 00:13:51.340 --> 00:13:54.320 He threw himself at Jesus' feet and he thanked him. 00:13:55.020 --> 00:13:57.780 And it says, he was a Samaritan. 00:13:59.940 --> 00:14:01.960 He fell at Jesus' feet. 00:14:02.379 --> 00:14:05.560 At the very least, he recognised Jesus was an agent of God. 00:14:05.840 --> 00:14:08.220 More likely, he realised that Jesus was king. 00:14:08.220 --> 00:14:13.879 He returned to Jesus with a heart, giving glory to God and thanks to Jesus. 00:14:14.279 --> 00:14:18.000 And he recognised God's powers working through Jesus. 00:14:18.000 --> 00:14:27.179 And Jesus, at this point, asked three closely coordinated questions in verses 17 and 18. 00:14:27.480 --> 00:14:27.919 He said, 00:14:29.259 --> 00:14:31.659 Were not all ten cleansed? 00:14:33.600 --> 00:14:34.700 Where the other nine? 00:14:35.860 --> 00:14:43.039 Has no one found to return and give praise to God except for this foreigner? 00:14:43.039 --> 00:14:47.779 The questions were not rhetorical. 00:14:49.199 --> 00:14:52.419 I think Jesus was expecting all to return. 00:14:53.839 --> 00:15:00.019 And then in returning for them to receive the ultimate blessing that he had prepared for them. 00:15:00.019 --> 00:15:07.059 And so Jesus is disappointed that nine walked away without receiving the ultimate blessing. 00:15:09.679 --> 00:15:16.819 Evidently, the other nine here were so caught up in their new wholeness that it did not occur to them to return to Jesus. 00:15:17.519 --> 00:15:19.579 The one to whom they had asked for mercy. 00:15:19.580 --> 00:15:23.160 This is understandable at one level after all. 00:15:23.220 --> 00:15:24.759 Jesus did tell them to go to the press. 00:15:25.820 --> 00:15:26.920 Of course, they were thankful. 00:15:27.160 --> 00:15:28.460 How could they not be otherwise? 00:15:28.639 --> 00:15:30.879 I mean, things were working out pretty well for them. 00:15:31.500 --> 00:15:32.600 They were deeply happy. 00:15:33.660 --> 00:15:35.759 And they were eager to get back into normal life. 00:15:37.379 --> 00:15:39.540 And yet there was a deadly problem here. 00:15:40.500 --> 00:15:42.360 A deadly problem with this nine. 00:15:42.360 --> 00:15:47.419 God was not the centre of their gratitude. 00:15:49.519 --> 00:15:53.720 Note Jesus' final question in verse 18. 00:15:54.200 --> 00:15:55.360 It's a very telling question. 00:15:56.680 --> 00:16:03.759 Was no one found to return and give praise to God except this foreigner? 00:16:04.840 --> 00:16:06.440 Give praise to God. 00:16:09.360 --> 00:16:10.440 Only the foreigner. 00:16:11.039 --> 00:16:12.200 Only the Samaritan. 00:16:12.360 --> 00:16:13.600 Gave praise to God. 00:16:13.680 --> 00:16:14.680 The rest of the temple. 00:16:16.580 --> 00:16:17.720 The place of worship. 00:16:19.419 --> 00:16:21.899 Only the Samaritan gave praise to God. 00:16:22.500 --> 00:16:28.320 The vague gratitude to divinity of the other nine was not an adequate response to what had just happened. 00:16:29.240 --> 00:16:30.899 Christ wanted their hearts. 00:16:31.419 --> 00:16:36.300 And by failing to glorify God and to return to thank Jesus, 00:16:36.299 --> 00:16:43.059 they missed the greatest possible moment of their life. 00:16:43.059 --> 00:16:44.059 Christ wanted their hearts. 00:16:44.059 --> 00:16:47.039 It's in verse 19. 00:16:47.379 --> 00:16:50.619 They did not hear these words. 00:16:50.619 --> 00:16:50.639 They did not hear these words. 00:16:51.119 --> 00:16:52.839 Rise and go. 00:16:53.839 --> 00:16:56.079 Your faith has made you well. 00:16:57.119 --> 00:16:58.219 They didn't hear those words. 00:16:58.220 --> 00:17:00.100 Or more literally, 00:17:00.540 --> 00:17:02.279 rise and go. 00:17:02.279 --> 00:17:04.900 Your faith has saved you. 00:17:04.900 --> 00:17:11.660 That is the studied opinion of the most prominent scholars in the world on this gospel. 00:17:12.300 --> 00:17:16.380 I don't know why any translation hasn't translated like that. 00:17:16.380 --> 00:17:19.620 Your faith has saved you. 00:17:19.619 --> 00:17:24.099 And we must allow those words to have its deepest meaning. 00:17:24.519 --> 00:17:29.439 The Samaritan received forgiveness, reconciliation, eternal life, 00:17:29.859 --> 00:17:35.500 and the removal of all alienation and distance between God and himself 00:17:35.500 --> 00:17:38.639 in place of his sin and his moral sickness. 00:17:38.640 --> 00:17:40.300 Jesus' words are clear. 00:17:40.800 --> 00:17:45.840 Only the Samaritan, who returned the praise of God and offered thanksgiving to Christ, 00:17:47.300 --> 00:17:48.980 has in fact saved in faith. 00:17:50.600 --> 00:17:56.100 His gratitude and his praise to God were signs of his saving faith. 00:17:58.120 --> 00:18:02.920 Now, no one is saved by virtue of having a pleasant, optimistic, and thankful spirit. 00:18:03.400 --> 00:18:08.620 Jesus is not teaching here salvation by disposition or salvation by gratitude. 00:18:08.640 --> 00:18:14.259 But Jesus is teaching here that where there is true faith, 00:18:14.780 --> 00:18:17.620 there are profoundly thankful hearts. 00:18:19.120 --> 00:18:26.180 Thanksgiving is a normal result of a vital union with the Lord Jesus 00:18:26.180 --> 00:18:28.000 and a direct measure. 00:18:28.520 --> 00:18:36.160 It's a direct measure of the extent to which we are experiencing the reality of that relationship 00:18:36.160 --> 00:18:38.980 in our daily lives. 00:18:39.920 --> 00:18:43.519 It's not how many times you pray or thanksgiving. 00:18:44.140 --> 00:18:48.320 Gratitude to God is a direct measure of whether or not 00:18:48.320 --> 00:18:52.060 the growing in your relationship with Jesus. 00:18:53.440 --> 00:18:56.840 So that the thankfulness to God is the heart of authentic faith. 00:18:56.839 --> 00:19:02.399 And conversely, the heart of those who do not know Christ and are ungrateful. 00:19:04.399 --> 00:19:05.919 That's the opposite side of the book. 00:19:06.059 --> 00:19:12.319 Romans 1.21 says that sin is an attitude that not only ignores God, 00:19:12.799 --> 00:19:14.899 but refuses to give thanks to God. 00:19:14.900 --> 00:19:22.640 A number of years ago, there was a shuttle mission that was in a bit of trouble. 00:19:23.560 --> 00:19:29.360 And NASA put out this media thing to pray for the astronauts 00:19:29.360 --> 00:19:32.620 and the shuttle mission that they return home safely. 00:19:33.300 --> 00:19:36.400 Right across the U.S. people are praying for that to happen. 00:19:36.400 --> 00:19:38.519 They return safely, landed. 00:19:39.140 --> 00:19:43.440 And at that moment, NASA took credit for their skill, 00:19:43.680 --> 00:19:46.180 the skill of the astronauts, our technology. 00:19:46.820 --> 00:19:51.120 No one gave thanks to God, even though NASA called the nation to do that. 00:19:52.800 --> 00:19:54.680 That's what Romans 1.21 is talking about. 00:19:56.600 --> 00:19:59.460 For they knew God, they knew that glorified Him as God, 00:19:59.519 --> 00:20:00.860 who gave thanks to Him. 00:20:01.440 --> 00:20:04.440 But it's not just those outside the church or outside of Christ 00:20:04.440 --> 00:20:05.860 who don't give thanks to God. 00:20:05.940 --> 00:20:09.420 The religious people inside the church do exactly the same thing. 00:20:09.539 --> 00:20:15.400 2 Timothy 3 says that some have a form of godliness 00:20:15.400 --> 00:20:18.580 but don't recognize the daily work of God in their lives. 00:20:19.500 --> 00:20:21.940 Instead, it says they are lovers of themselves, 00:20:22.100 --> 00:20:25.019 lovers of money, boastful, proud, and ungrateful. 00:20:25.779 --> 00:20:30.340 Being grateful or thankful is a core attribute of those who love God. 00:20:30.339 --> 00:20:34.779 And I think we as Christians need to hear this. 00:20:35.139 --> 00:20:37.119 Many, many years ago, decades ago, 00:20:37.459 --> 00:20:39.299 the German philosopher Friedrich Nietzsche, 00:20:39.839 --> 00:20:44.679 who was a classical scholar and a self-confessed critic of Christianity, 00:20:46.019 --> 00:20:48.799 he said that he would believe in the Redeemer 00:20:48.799 --> 00:20:52.639 if the redeemed looked a little bit more redeemed. 00:20:52.640 --> 00:20:59.240 What he's saying there is that when you look at Christians' lives, 00:20:59.580 --> 00:21:02.880 you would never get the impression that Jesus was God, 00:21:03.020 --> 00:21:04.640 that He died on the cross for their sin, 00:21:04.720 --> 00:21:06.960 that He'd risen again from the dead 00:21:06.960 --> 00:21:09.440 as He promises resurrection for all of His people, 00:21:09.580 --> 00:21:13.259 that He's going to come back and take us to eternal joy 00:21:13.259 --> 00:21:14.980 in everything that He does between now and then. 00:21:15.060 --> 00:21:18.220 He's going to sovereignly rule over our lives for our joy and for His glory. 00:21:19.060 --> 00:21:20.020 You never get that impression. 00:21:20.019 --> 00:21:23.000 He says, when I look at the lives of Christians, 00:21:23.440 --> 00:21:27.319 I go, it appears you don't have much of a Redeemer. 00:21:28.940 --> 00:21:29.960 You've got nothing off me. 00:21:32.940 --> 00:21:35.420 Taking for granted all the temple provisions 00:21:35.420 --> 00:21:39.539 and the spiritual blessings that God has so richly lavished on us 00:21:39.539 --> 00:21:42.180 and therefore failing to give Him thanks 00:21:42.180 --> 00:21:45.519 is one of the sins that we just seem to accept. 00:21:46.440 --> 00:21:48.019 But I want to call it for what it is. 00:21:48.019 --> 00:21:51.539 Too many of us might not even regard it as a sin. 00:21:52.039 --> 00:21:54.900 We don't even bathe right when someone walks in the church complaining 00:21:54.900 --> 00:22:00.980 or on the way out, you know, over supper, you know, grumbling about stuff. 00:22:01.859 --> 00:22:04.799 How many of us in that moment just go silent 00:22:04.799 --> 00:22:07.160 in the presence of an habitual grumbler 00:22:07.160 --> 00:22:09.740 and fail to point them to the blessings of Jesus? 00:22:09.900 --> 00:22:11.700 How many of us are, you know, it's Steve Jobs? 00:22:11.700 --> 00:22:15.640 How many of us don't take that opportunity 00:22:15.640 --> 00:22:18.440 to remind each other of the blessings we have in Christ? 00:22:19.299 --> 00:22:22.779 Biblical, thankless, ungrateful Christians 00:22:22.779 --> 00:22:26.580 sorry, biblically, thankless, ungrateful Christians 00:22:26.580 --> 00:22:28.120 are a contradiction in terms. 00:22:28.660 --> 00:22:31.819 Gratitude is the light blood of the Christian. 00:22:31.819 --> 00:22:35.839 In the midst of the immediate crisis that I'm going through 00:22:35.839 --> 00:22:37.500 I've got a more immediate God 00:22:37.500 --> 00:22:39.299 who saved us from the wrath to come 00:22:39.299 --> 00:22:41.119 and made us His children. 00:22:42.039 --> 00:22:43.480 Beyond our big worries 00:22:43.480 --> 00:22:45.240 is an even dear God 00:22:45.240 --> 00:22:48.740 who did not withhold His one and only Son from us. 00:22:49.619 --> 00:22:51.039 And we're to train ourselves 00:22:51.039 --> 00:22:53.240 as they used to say in the old days 00:22:53.240 --> 00:22:54.319 count your blessings. 00:22:54.319 --> 00:22:58.759 We don't say it much 00:22:58.759 --> 00:22:59.980 but I think it's the right thing to do 00:22:59.980 --> 00:23:01.639 even when you've been wounded by a friend 00:23:01.639 --> 00:23:04.700 even when things aren't the way you want them to be 00:23:04.700 --> 00:23:06.919 in society or in your family or in church 00:23:06.919 --> 00:23:08.839 even when you didn't get the mark you wanted 00:23:08.839 --> 00:23:12.159 or the pay rise or the promotion you worked hard for 00:23:12.159 --> 00:23:13.960 even when sickness and disease hit you 00:23:13.960 --> 00:23:15.519 even when the finances don't reach 00:23:15.519 --> 00:23:18.779 to still be able to say 00:23:18.779 --> 00:23:20.779 God is good 00:23:20.779 --> 00:23:22.899 as we have just said. 00:23:22.900 --> 00:23:25.420 He is still good to me. 00:23:26.940 --> 00:23:28.580 In Jesus, on the cross 00:23:28.580 --> 00:23:30.600 He's done everything that I need 00:23:30.600 --> 00:23:33.560 to get up every single morning 00:23:33.560 --> 00:23:35.420 with gratitude in my heart. 00:23:37.560 --> 00:23:38.800 You see, thankfulness is not linked 00:23:38.800 --> 00:23:40.960 to whether our circumstances are good or not. 00:23:41.600 --> 00:23:42.820 That's how everyone lives. 00:23:44.100 --> 00:23:46.780 You know, thankful when things are going well 00:23:46.780 --> 00:23:48.140 not so thankful when things are going well 00:23:48.140 --> 00:23:49.759 what's a Christian about that? 00:23:50.320 --> 00:23:51.580 Everyone does that. 00:23:52.900 --> 00:23:54.880 The Christian has a reason 00:23:54.880 --> 00:23:56.940 and a hope to be thankful in all things. 00:23:57.680 --> 00:23:58.500 In the Old Testament 00:23:58.500 --> 00:24:00.080 there's a book called Lamentations. 00:24:00.880 --> 00:24:02.940 I describe it as probably 00:24:02.940 --> 00:24:04.560 the blackest book in the Bible. 00:24:04.800 --> 00:24:06.140 It's so, so depressing. 00:24:07.300 --> 00:24:09.019 It is set in the context 00:24:09.019 --> 00:24:11.000 of God having sent the Babylonians 00:24:11.000 --> 00:24:13.460 to judge and condemn Israel 00:24:13.460 --> 00:24:14.460 Jerusalem. 00:24:14.460 --> 00:24:14.700 Yeah, Jerusalem. 00:24:15.240 --> 00:24:18.059 And the scene in Lamentations 00:24:18.059 --> 00:24:19.380 is the city of Jerusalem 00:24:19.380 --> 00:24:20.600 is surrounded. 00:24:20.799 --> 00:24:21.579 It's under siege. 00:24:21.680 --> 00:24:23.360 It's been under siege for some time. 00:24:23.640 --> 00:24:25.860 In fact, it's been under siege for so long 00:24:25.860 --> 00:24:27.279 that the writer says 00:24:27.279 --> 00:24:28.559 that he has witnessed 00:24:28.559 --> 00:24:30.940 mothers eating their babies. 00:24:31.880 --> 00:24:34.840 That is, food has long run out. 00:24:36.240 --> 00:24:37.579 Cannibalism has set in. 00:24:38.579 --> 00:24:41.039 Starvation is so, so bad. 00:24:41.039 --> 00:24:44.240 But right in the middle 00:24:44.240 --> 00:24:47.619 of the book of Lamentations 00:24:47.619 --> 00:24:50.420 and for those who do this stuff 00:24:50.420 --> 00:24:53.700 structurally, it's the very centre verse 00:24:53.700 --> 00:24:55.399 of Lamentations. 00:24:56.000 --> 00:24:56.940 It's right in the middle. 00:24:57.960 --> 00:24:59.940 That is, everything hinges on this verse. 00:25:00.559 --> 00:25:01.579 And the verse is this. 00:25:02.099 --> 00:25:03.220 The steadfast love 00:25:03.220 --> 00:25:05.420 of the Lord never ceases. 00:25:06.259 --> 00:25:08.579 His mercies are new every morning. 00:25:08.579 --> 00:25:11.859 Great is your faithfulness. 00:25:14.559 --> 00:25:17.740 You see, like the writer of Lamentations, 00:25:17.899 --> 00:25:18.500 the prophet Jeremiah, 00:25:19.500 --> 00:25:20.699 and like you, 00:25:20.839 --> 00:25:22.779 when you have God's big story, 00:25:23.740 --> 00:25:27.399 the big picture of God's love for me and Jesus, 00:25:27.639 --> 00:25:30.619 our little stories seem much more manageable. 00:25:31.699 --> 00:25:33.619 You can always look at the problem 00:25:33.619 --> 00:25:34.359 that you're facing, 00:25:34.500 --> 00:25:35.599 the big issue you're facing 00:25:35.599 --> 00:25:36.559 from another window, 00:25:36.559 --> 00:25:38.480 and the other window is this. 00:25:38.819 --> 00:25:39.619 In Jesus, 00:25:40.059 --> 00:25:40.819 with Jesus, 00:25:40.980 --> 00:25:41.779 because of Jesus, 00:25:41.960 --> 00:25:43.679 I have everything. 00:25:46.460 --> 00:25:47.480 Because of Jesus, 00:25:47.639 --> 00:25:48.440 I can say, 00:25:48.819 --> 00:25:51.139 with Habakkuk, 00:25:51.240 --> 00:25:52.220 in Habakkuk 3, 00:25:53.000 --> 00:25:54.159 the stall's empty, 00:25:54.839 --> 00:25:56.220 there's total drought, 00:25:56.299 --> 00:25:57.700 there's no food in the fridge, 00:25:58.419 --> 00:25:59.740 Westfield's burnt down, 00:25:59.879 --> 00:26:00.879 I've got no clothing, 00:26:01.539 --> 00:26:02.259 it's drought, 00:26:02.359 --> 00:26:02.500 I mean, 00:26:02.539 --> 00:26:03.299 I didn't exactly say this, 00:26:03.379 --> 00:26:04.019 but it's drought, 00:26:04.019 --> 00:26:04.779 it's carnage, 00:26:04.819 --> 00:26:05.319 it's chaos, 00:26:05.480 --> 00:26:06.180 it's crisis, 00:26:06.480 --> 00:26:07.059 everywhere, 00:26:07.680 --> 00:26:09.220 everything's taken away, 00:26:10.500 --> 00:26:11.240 and yet, 00:26:11.440 --> 00:26:12.619 I've rejoiced in God, 00:26:12.859 --> 00:26:13.519 my Saviour. 00:26:14.519 --> 00:26:14.819 You see, 00:26:14.879 --> 00:26:15.440 when you've got Jesus, 00:26:15.579 --> 00:26:16.139 you've got everything. 00:26:18.079 --> 00:26:19.000 When you've got a Saviour, 00:26:19.059 --> 00:26:19.799 you've got everything. 00:26:21.279 --> 00:26:21.980 I am loved, 00:26:22.079 --> 00:26:22.799 and I'm secure, 00:26:23.000 --> 00:26:24.900 in the God of the universe, 00:26:26.019 --> 00:26:28.779 there is a future of eternal joy 00:26:28.779 --> 00:26:30.339 that waits for me, 00:26:30.339 --> 00:26:31.959 and so, 00:26:32.119 --> 00:26:32.839 Christian people, 00:26:32.980 --> 00:26:34.240 those who embrace that, 00:26:34.359 --> 00:26:35.339 you ought to be metaphorically, 00:26:36.519 --> 00:26:37.720 in your praise to God. 00:26:40.419 --> 00:26:42.720 I don't think there's any room to say, 00:26:42.919 --> 00:26:43.299 well, Steve, 00:26:43.359 --> 00:26:44.159 you've got to stand on me. 00:26:50.559 --> 00:26:52.839 The 19th century English pastor, 00:26:52.980 --> 00:26:54.259 Charles Spurgeon, 00:26:54.579 --> 00:26:56.179 was sharing the good news of salvation, 00:26:56.619 --> 00:26:57.240 in Jesus, 00:26:57.359 --> 00:26:58.339 with a woman one day, 00:26:58.339 --> 00:27:00.720 and she was beginning to understand the good news. 00:27:01.000 --> 00:27:02.019 It started to dawn on her, 00:27:02.099 --> 00:27:03.339 what Christ had done for her, 00:27:03.859 --> 00:27:05.500 and Spurgeon said, 00:27:05.639 --> 00:27:06.639 and in that moment, 00:27:06.740 --> 00:27:08.000 she just burst out and said, 00:27:08.119 --> 00:27:08.399 oh, 00:27:08.779 --> 00:27:09.839 Mr. Spurgeon, 00:27:10.319 --> 00:27:12.439 if Christ saves me, 00:27:12.740 --> 00:27:14.619 he will never hear the end of it. 00:27:16.779 --> 00:27:17.819 Isn't that beautiful? 00:27:19.359 --> 00:27:19.799 Megaphone. 00:27:21.959 --> 00:27:25.480 The response of the Samaritan reveals what true faith looks like. 00:27:25.480 --> 00:27:27.980 Normal faith is thankfulness to Jesus. 00:27:28.339 --> 00:27:34.000 Does that characterize us here? 00:27:34.879 --> 00:27:35.959 Does it characterize you? 00:27:36.879 --> 00:27:39.899 The good news of the free gift of life in Jesus 00:27:39.899 --> 00:27:42.439 still grips you and still moves you into tears? 00:27:44.019 --> 00:27:46.159 Joy in Christ. 00:27:46.160 --> 00:27:53.259 A friend of mine was sitting in a group of other Bible college students. 00:27:53.320 --> 00:27:54.480 He was in Bible college at the time, 00:27:54.700 --> 00:27:56.180 a prominent Bible college in Sydney, 00:27:56.259 --> 00:28:00.120 and the late evangelist, 00:28:00.200 --> 00:28:02.060 John Chapman, 00:28:02.259 --> 00:28:03.880 was leading the small group, 00:28:03.960 --> 00:28:04.840 it was a preaching group, 00:28:04.839 --> 00:28:08.500 and their text that they were working through, 00:28:08.500 --> 00:28:11.659 was the text that Sam preached on us last week. 00:28:12.919 --> 00:28:13.879 Philippians 2, 00:28:14.099 --> 00:28:14.799 1 in 11, 00:28:16.019 --> 00:28:18.000 about God's love for us in Christ. 00:28:18.000 --> 00:28:21.019 And as John, 00:28:21.160 --> 00:28:21.940 leading the group, 00:28:22.000 --> 00:28:22.940 he was in his 70s, 00:28:22.980 --> 00:28:24.819 been a Christian for over 50 years, 00:28:25.400 --> 00:28:26.759 he started to read the text, 00:28:27.519 --> 00:28:28.319 Philippians 2, 00:28:28.400 --> 00:28:29.359 started to read it to them. 00:28:30.200 --> 00:28:31.579 He got to the point 00:28:31.579 --> 00:28:34.160 where it talked about Christ 00:28:34.160 --> 00:28:35.460 going to the cross 00:28:35.460 --> 00:28:37.519 and dying for us. 00:28:38.319 --> 00:28:38.859 And he said, 00:28:39.019 --> 00:28:39.519 my friend said, 00:28:39.619 --> 00:28:40.160 at that point, 00:28:40.259 --> 00:28:42.500 John just started to weep. 00:28:44.039 --> 00:28:45.639 And then he started to sob. 00:28:47.000 --> 00:28:47.599 And he said, 00:28:47.639 --> 00:28:48.900 the rest of us in the group are like, 00:28:49.200 --> 00:28:50.059 it's a bit awkward. 00:28:50.839 --> 00:28:51.700 What do we do here? 00:28:52.240 --> 00:28:53.420 Do we give the guy a hug? 00:28:54.660 --> 00:28:56.019 Do we finish the Bible reading? 00:28:56.519 --> 00:28:57.480 Do we close in prayer? 00:28:57.839 --> 00:28:58.359 What do we do? 00:28:59.480 --> 00:29:00.039 And he said, 00:29:00.079 --> 00:29:01.539 we just all sat there awkwardly 00:29:01.539 --> 00:29:02.079 for a moment, 00:29:02.240 --> 00:29:02.500 waiting. 00:29:02.799 --> 00:29:03.799 And a couple of minutes later, 00:29:04.059 --> 00:29:04.519 he said, 00:29:04.599 --> 00:29:06.759 John composed himself, 00:29:06.759 --> 00:29:07.940 and read the rest of the text 00:29:07.940 --> 00:29:08.819 and blew his nose 00:29:08.819 --> 00:29:09.599 and wiped his eyes 00:29:09.599 --> 00:29:10.619 and went on to the thing. 00:29:10.960 --> 00:29:12.160 But before he went on, 00:29:12.519 --> 00:29:12.920 he said, 00:29:13.000 --> 00:29:13.619 sorry gentlemen, 00:29:14.839 --> 00:29:16.559 as I was reading, 00:29:16.680 --> 00:29:17.539 I was just reminding 00:29:17.539 --> 00:29:18.599 of the gospel again. 00:29:22.599 --> 00:29:23.859 Megathrone comes to mind. 00:29:25.539 --> 00:29:26.440 Did you have that moment 00:29:26.440 --> 00:29:27.279 last week 00:29:27.279 --> 00:29:28.680 when Sam was preaching 00:29:28.680 --> 00:29:31.119 from Philippians 2 00:29:31.119 --> 00:29:31.920 and reminding you 00:29:31.920 --> 00:29:32.920 of the gospel again? 00:29:35.000 --> 00:29:36.019 Gratitude is the heart 00:29:36.019 --> 00:29:40.059 of the Christian motivation 00:29:40.059 --> 00:29:40.559 for mission. 00:29:40.660 --> 00:29:41.720 That's the connection here. 00:29:42.319 --> 00:29:43.279 Gratitude and mission 00:29:43.279 --> 00:29:44.400 are so connected. 00:29:45.440 --> 00:29:45.879 Duty, 00:29:46.500 --> 00:29:47.779 just doing mission 00:29:47.779 --> 00:29:48.480 out of duty, 00:29:48.619 --> 00:29:48.940 just doing, 00:29:49.039 --> 00:29:49.559 share the benefit 00:29:49.559 --> 00:29:50.440 out of duty. 00:29:51.940 --> 00:29:52.980 What duty wants to do 00:29:52.980 --> 00:29:53.740 is just establish 00:29:53.740 --> 00:29:54.359 the limits. 00:29:55.700 --> 00:29:56.500 It wants to be like 00:29:56.500 --> 00:29:57.900 the expert in the law 00:29:57.900 --> 00:30:00.139 with the Good Samaritan. 00:30:00.299 --> 00:30:00.440 So, 00:30:00.940 --> 00:30:01.799 do I really need 00:30:01.799 --> 00:30:02.519 to love that guy? 00:30:03.480 --> 00:30:04.539 It wants to put limits 00:30:04.539 --> 00:30:05.500 boundaries. 00:30:07.299 --> 00:30:08.759 Gratitude overflows. 00:30:09.460 --> 00:30:10.420 It's desire 00:30:10.420 --> 00:30:11.460 and impulse 00:30:11.460 --> 00:30:12.099 that Sam said 00:30:12.099 --> 00:30:12.859 last week. 00:30:13.180 --> 00:30:14.920 How incredibly beneficial 00:30:14.920 --> 00:30:16.359 grateful people 00:30:16.359 --> 00:30:17.460 are to themselves 00:30:17.460 --> 00:30:19.139 and those around them 00:30:19.139 --> 00:30:20.319 in their families 00:30:20.319 --> 00:30:21.099 and their church 00:30:21.099 --> 00:30:22.099 and in their society 00:30:22.099 --> 00:30:23.039 where gratitude 00:30:23.039 --> 00:30:24.940 is so scarce. 00:30:25.599 --> 00:30:26.579 They are light 00:30:26.579 --> 00:30:27.480 in darkness. 00:30:28.579 --> 00:30:29.619 When their gratitude 00:30:29.619 --> 00:30:31.019 rings out to God 00:30:31.019 --> 00:30:31.920 through Jesus 00:30:31.920 --> 00:30:33.080 and poor Jesus, 00:30:33.519 --> 00:30:34.400 the Lord Jesus 00:30:34.400 --> 00:30:36.380 is powerfully proclaimed 00:30:36.380 --> 00:30:37.880 and some that are 00:30:37.880 --> 00:30:39.980 wallowing in that darkness, 00:30:40.380 --> 00:30:41.019 depressed, 00:30:42.340 --> 00:30:43.220 alone, 00:30:43.519 --> 00:30:44.120 thankless, 00:30:44.600 --> 00:30:46.380 in no man's land, 00:30:47.340 --> 00:30:48.500 see the right light. 00:30:49.800 --> 00:30:50.680 They get a glimpse 00:30:50.680 --> 00:30:51.460 of glory. 00:30:51.980 --> 00:30:52.680 Hearts that are 00:30:52.680 --> 00:30:52.840 overflowing 00:30:53.480 --> 00:30:53.840 with thankfulness 00:30:54.500 --> 00:30:56.779 despite the circumstances 00:30:56.779 --> 00:30:58.200 of their lives. 00:30:58.200 --> 00:31:00.380 display the worth 00:31:00.380 --> 00:31:01.960 and the value 00:31:01.960 --> 00:31:03.720 and the magnificence 00:31:03.720 --> 00:31:04.220 of Jesus 00:31:04.220 --> 00:31:05.019 to a world 00:31:05.019 --> 00:31:06.180 that needs 00:31:06.180 --> 00:31:07.440 a reason for hope 00:31:07.440 --> 00:31:08.539 and a reason 00:31:08.539 --> 00:31:09.180 for gratitude. 00:31:10.240 --> 00:31:10.559 Amen.