UNTHANKFULNESS

II. DEALING WITH THE SIN OF UNTHANKFULNESS
session 3

1. During biblical times, leprosy devastated many lives. The Mosaic Law required that a leper continually cry out, ‘unclean, unclean’ while walking along the road (Leviticus 13:45). In light of this, what is poignant about Jesus’ experience between Samaria and Galilee? (See Luke 17:11-19)

 Luke 17: 11-19 says, ‘As He went on His way to Jerusalem, it occurred that [Jesus] was passing [along the border] between Samaria and Galilee. And as He was going into one village, He was met by ten lepers, who stood at a distance. And they raised up their voices and called, Jesus, Master, take pity and have mercy on us! And when He saw them, He said to them, Go [at once] and show yourselves to the priests. And as they went, they were cured and made clean. Then one of them, upon seeing that he was cured, turned back, recognizing and thanking and praising God with a loud voice and he fell prostrate at Jesus’ feet, thanking Him [over and over]. And he was a Samaritan. Then Jesus asked, Were not [all] ten cleansed? Where are the nine? Was there no one found to return and to recognize and give thanks and praise to God except this alien? And He said to him, Get up and go on your way. Your faith (your trust and confidence that spring from your belief in God) has restored you to health.’

All ten lepers had experienced the awful shame of crying out ‘unclean, unclean’ to those who passed by. Everyone knew their plight. Yet when they were healed only one returned to give thanks. And it was one of those who were the most despised by the Israelites. How many times have you heard someone cry out to God for healing from some disease, or some terrible tragedy that has befallen their family and when the crisis is over they have forgotten that in the midst of their pain and sorrow they cried out to God. Suddenly they act as though it was by their own might that they were delivered. Have you ever been guilty of this? This is the height of unthankfulness. Every day there are thousands of things done for us that we are to be thankful for, but the OBVIOUS God things that we somehow try to grab as our own doing…this borders in my mind as blasphemy.

 2. Read Romans 6:6,17 and Ephesians 2:1-5

 Romans 6:6 ‘We know that our old (unrenewed) self was nailed to the cross with Him in order that [our] body [which is the instrument] of sin might be made ineffective and inactive for evil, that we might no longer be the slaves of sin.’

Romans 6:17 ‘ But thank God, though you were once slaves of sin, you have become obedient with all your heart to the standard of teaching in which you were instructed and to which you were committed.’

Ephesians 2:1-5 ‘And you [He made alive], when you were dead (slain) by [your] trespasses and sins. In which at one time you walked [habitually]. You were following the course and fashion of this world [were under the sway of the tendency of this present age], following the prince of the power of the air. [You were obedient to and under the control of] the [demon] spirit that still constantly works in the sons of disobedience [the careless, the rebellious, and the unbelieving, who go against the purposes of God]. Among these we as well as you once lived and conducted ourselves in the passions of our flesh [our behavior governed by our corrupt and sensual nature], obeying the impulses of the flesh and the thoughts of the mind [our cravings dictated by our senses and our dark imaginings]. We were then by nature children of [God’s] wrath and heirs of [His] indignation, like the rest of mankind. But God—so rich is He in His mercy! Because of and in order to satisfy the great and wonderful and intense love with which He loved us, Even when we were dead (slain) by [our own] shortcomings and trespasses, He made us alive together in fellowship and in union with Christ; [He gave us the very life of Christ Himself, the same new life with which He quickened Him, for] it is by grace (His favor and mercy which you did not deserve) that you are saved (delivered from judgment and made partakers of Christ’s salvation).’

 a. What is a person’s spiritual condition without God?

 Dead, not sick, not mortally wounded, DEAD.

 b. What has God done for every believer? He made us alive! He put us into fellowship and union with Christ; He gave us the very life of Christ Himself! By His grace He saved us and delivered us from judgment and made partakers of Christ’s salvation…wow…my favorite two words in ALL of the Scriptures are BUT GOD—did you catch what followed? “Because of and in order to satisfy the great and wonderful and intense love with which He loved us, Even when we were dead (slain) by [our own] shortcomings and trespasses, He made us alive together in fellowship and in union with Christ.” Anyone who still thinks that they have to DO anything to please Him needs to memorize THIS passage from Ephesians.

 3. According to Acts 17:24-25, why should we express heartfelt gratitude to God?

 Acts 17:24-25 ‘The God Who produced and formed the world and all things in it, being Lord of heaven and earth, does not dwell in handmade shrines. Neither is He served by human hands, as though He lacked anything, for it is He Himself Who gives life and breath and all things to all [people].’

I don’t think I can say it any better than Jerry did when he said, “In summary, we should seek to develop the habit of continually giving thanks to God. We should above all thank Him for our Salvation and for the opportunities we have for spiritual growth and ministry. We should thank Him frequently for the abundance of material blessings He has provided. And then when circumstances go awry and do not turn out the way we had hoped we should, by faith, thank Him for what He is doing in the circumstances to transform us more and more into the image of His Son.” It is HE Who gives life and breath and all things to all people.

 4. According to the promises of Romans 8:28-29, 38-39, why should we give thanks by faith even when a situation is disappointing or difficult?

 Romans 8:28-29 ‘We are assured and know that [God being a partner in their labor] all things work together and are [fitting into a plan] for good to and for those who love God and are called according to [His] design and purpose. For those whom He foreknew [of whom He was [b]aware and loved beforehand], He also destined from the beginning [foreordaining them] to be molded into the image of His Son [and share inwardly His likeness], that He might become the firstborn among many brethren.’ 

 Romans 8:38-39 ‘For I am persuaded beyond doubt (am sure) that neither death nor life, nor angels nor principalities, nor things impending and threatening nor things to come, nor powers, Nor height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation will be able to separate us from the love of God which is in Christ Jesus our Lord.’

Romans 8:28-29 Assure us that every, single thing will work together for our good, that good being God’s plan to make us into the image of His son. Romans 8:38-38 persuades us, that there is NOTHING that can separate us from God’s love, which was and is found in Christ Jesus. By faith we can believe those promises and join the other witnesses in the hall of faith, in Hebrews 11.

 I’ve posted it here for your encouragement:

 ‘Now faith is the assurance (the confirmation the title deed) of the things [we] hope for, being the proof of things [we] do not see and the conviction of their reality [faith perceiving as real fact what is not revealed to the senses]. For by [faith—trust and holy fervor born of faith] the men of old had divine testimony borne to them and obtained a good report. By faith we understand that the worlds [during the successive ages] were framed (fashioned, put in order, and equipped for their intended purpose) by the word of God, so that what we see was not made out of things which are visible.[Prompted, actuated] by faith Abel brought God a better and more acceptable sacrifice than Cain, because of which it was testified of him that he was righteous [that he was upright and in right standing with God], and God bore witness by accepting and acknowledging his gifts. And though he died, yet [through the incident] he is still speaking. Because of faith Enoch was caught up and transferred to heaven, so that he did not have a glimpse of death; and he was not found, because God had translated him. For even before he was taken to heaven, he received testimony [still on record] that he had pleased and been satisfactory to God. But without faith it is impossible to please and be satisfactory to Him. For whoever would come near to God must [necessarily] believe that God exists and that He is the rewarder of those who earnestly and diligently seek Him [out]. [Prompted] by faith Noah, being forewarned by God concerning events of which as yet there was no visible sign, took heed and diligently and reverently constructed and prepared an ark for the deliverance of his own family. By this [his faith which relied on God] he passed judgment and sentence on the world’s unbelief and became an heir and possessor of righteousness (that relation of being right into which God puts the person who has faith).[Urged on] by faith Abraham, when he was called, obeyed and went forth to a place which he was destined to receive as an inheritance; and he went, although he did not know or trouble his mind about where he was to go.[Prompted] by faith he dwelt as a temporary resident in the land which was designated in the promise [of God, though he was like a stranger] in a strange country, living in tents with Isaac and Jacob, fellow heirs with him of the same promise. For he was [waiting expectantly and confidently] looking forward to the city which has fixed and firm foundations, whose Architect and Builder is God. Because of faith also Sarah herself received physical power to conceive a child, even when she was long past the age for it, because she considered [God] Who had given her the promise to be reliable and trustworthy and true to His word. So from one man, though he was physically as good as dead, there have sprung descendants whose number is as the stars of heaven and as countless as the innumerable sands on the seashore. These people all died controlled and sustained by their faith, but not having received the tangible fulfillment of [God’s] promises, only having seen it and greeted it from a great distance by faith, and all the while acknowledging and confessing that they were strangers and temporary residents and exiles upon the earth. Now those people who talk as they did show plainly that they are in search of a fatherland (their own country). If they had been thinking with [homesick] remembrance of that country from which they were emigrants, they would have found constant opportunity to return to it. But the truth is that they were yearning for and aspiring to a better and more desirable country, that is, a heavenly [one]. For that reason God is not ashamed to be called their God [even to be surnamed their God—the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob], for He has prepared a city for them. By faith Abraham, when he was put to the test [while the testing of his faith was still in progress], [e]had already brought Isaac for an offering; he who had gladly received and welcomed [God’s] promises was ready to sacrifice his only son, Of whom it was said, Through Isaac shall your descendants be reckoned. For he reasoned that God was able to raise [him] up even from among the dead. Indeed in the sense that Isaac was figuratively dead [potentially sacrificed], he did [actually] receive him back from the dead.[With eyes of] faith Isaac, looking far into the future, invoked blessings upon Jacob and Esau.[Prompted] by faith Jacob, when he was dying, blessed each of Joseph’s sons and bowed in prayer over the top of his staff. [Actuated] by faith Joseph, when nearing the end of his life, referred to [the promise of God for] the departure of the Israelites out of Egypt and gave instructions concerning the burial of his own bones. [Prompted] by faith Moses, after his birth, was kept concealed for three months by his parents, because they saw how comely the child was; and they were not overawed and terrified by the king’s decree. [Aroused] by faith Moses, when he had grown to maturity and [f]become great, refused to be called the son of Pharaoh’s daughter, Because he preferred to share the oppression [suffer the hardships] and bear the shame of the people of God rather than to have the fleeting enjoyment of a sinful life. He considered the contempt and abuse and shame [borne for] the Christ (the Messiah Who was to come) to be greater wealth than all the treasures of Egypt, for he looked forward and away to the reward (recompense). [Motivated] by faith he left Egypt behind him, being unawed and undismayed by the wrath of the king; for he never flinched but held staunchly to his purpose and endured steadfastly as one who gazed on Him Who is invisible. By faith (simple trust and confidence in God) he instituted and carried out the Passover and the sprinkling of the blood [on the doorposts], so that the destroyer of the firstborn (the angel) might not touch those [of the children of Israel]. [Urged on] by faith the people crossed the Red Sea as [though] on dry land, but when the Egyptians tried to do the same thing they were swallowed up [by the sea]. Because of faith the walls of Jericho fell down after they had been encompassed for seven days [by the Israelites]. [Prompted] by faith Rahab the prostitute was not destroyed along with those who refused to believe and obey, because she had received the spies in peace [without enmity]. And what shall I say further? For time would fail me to tell of Gideon, Barak, Samson, Jephthah, of David and Samuel and the prophets, Who by [the help of] faith subdued kingdoms, administered justice, obtained promised blessings, closed the mouths of lions, Extinguished the power of raging fire, escaped the devourings of the sword, out of frailty and weakness won strength and became stalwart, even mighty and resistless in battle, routing alien hosts. [Some] women received again their dead by a resurrection. Others were tortured [g]to death with clubs, refusing to accept release [offered on the terms of denying their faith], so that they might be resurrected to a better life. Others had to suffer the trial of mocking and scourging and even chains and imprisonment. They were stoned to death; they were lured with tempting offers [to renounce their faith]; they were sawn asunder; they were slaughtered by the sword; [while they were alive] they had to go about wrapped in the skins of sheep and goats, utterly destitute, oppressed, cruelly treated—[Men] of whom the world was not worthy—roaming over the desolate places and the mountains, and [living] in caves and caverns and holes of the earth. And all of these, though they won divine approval by [means of] their faith, did not receive the fulfillment of what was promised. Because God had us in mind and had something better and greater in view for us, so that they [these heroes and heroines of faith] should not come to perfection apart from us [before we could join them].'

 I don’t know about you, but when I read these passages I get fired up! The Passage that catches my eye though is this one from verse 40: ‘BECAUSE God had US in mind and had something BETTER and GREATER in view for us, so that these heroes and heroines of faith should not come to perfection apart from us before we could join them.’ THERFORE: In chapter 12:1 “Since we are surrounded with so great a cloud of witnesses (who have borne testimony to the truth) let us strip off and throw aside every encumbrance and unecessary weight and that sin which so readily (deftly and cleverly) clings to and entangles us and let us run with patient endurance and steady and active persistence the appointed course of the race that is set before us.”

Run beloved, the appointed course…each of our courses is different, but we’ve been equipped to run, and we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses, cheering us on and more HE had US in mind, indeed has us in mind even now, and even in our stumbles He is pleased.

 Onward Christian Soldier.