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Hendersonville Seventh-day Adventist Church, NC

Brian Hindman

Tribute To God

Well, good morning and happy Sabbath, everyone.

It was just this past Thanksgiving on Thursday.

My wife and I had traveled about 1, 000 miles that day, and we had to eat Thanksgiving dinner at a truck stop because everything was closed.

We're driving back from British Columbia where we went to go visit my son at Fountain View Academy and we stopped to eat somewhere in Missouri and we realized everything is closed.

As we made our way further, over a thousand miles that day, we were coming into the city of St.

And it was getting late, it was dark, and there are some turns to make there through the city.

And as we were coming through the city, we had a GPS in the car, I had a GPS on my phone, and my wife had a GPS on her phone, and they were all saying, go this way, on Interstate 64 East, And in my mind, I did not think that was correct.

And so I contradicted 3 GPSs and said, let's go Interstate 70 East.

Well, you know how this story's gonna end.

We went the way that I thought we were supposed to go and wound up going the wrong direction and seeing signs that said we're headed for Chicago, which was not the direction that late of an hour that we wanted to be going.

And so I had to get off, make some back road turns, and anyway, a little small detour, but 1 that was frustrating when you've been driving for a thousand miles and you're sitting on truck stop food for Thanksgiving dinner and anyway my wife still is married to me and we're still in love I believe.

But anyway I am so thankful that God has given us a GPS in His Word, a more sure word of prophecy, the Bible tells us in 2 Peter 119, that we would do what?

We would do well to take heed unto, as unto a light that shines in a dark place until the day dawn, and the day star arise in your hearts.

And so this morning, our subject is a tribute to God, as we consider the Thanksgiving season.

You know, Thanksgiving is my favorite holiday, more than Christmas, Fourth of July, birthdays, all those other things.

Because we just pause and spend time with our families and consider what we are thankful for.

And it is so meaningful to me to do that.

Maybe also in part that I don't really like shopping that much, and so Christmas, and why do they have to follow it up with Black Friday right after spending a whole day being thankful, now I need to go and get the latest flat screen because I'm not thankful enough, or something.

But the time of Thanksgiving and this time of season is so special to me.

And so as we look at a tribute to God, I'd invite you to open your Bibles to Luke chapter 17.

We're gonna look at a story here in Luke chapter 17, and notice a question that Jesus asked in this story.

Luke chapter 17, and we'll be looking at beginning in verse 11, it's a story about 10 lepers.

You know, we're told that leprosy, in the book The Desire of Ages, was the most dreaded disease in all the east, the area where Israel was located at this time.

The most dreaded disease, because of its hideous effects upon the person.

They were forced to live away from society, forced to leave their family, their friends, their neighbors, colleagues, whoever, and forced to cry out whenever anyone was around, unclean, unclean.

And we're also told in the Spirit of Prophecy that leprosy, that physical condition is also likened to the sinfulness that we all have and all need forgiveness for.

Well, let's notice this story of 10 lepers beginning in Luke 17 verse 11.

The Bible says, and it came to pass as he, Jesus, went to Jerusalem that he passed through the midst of Samaria and Galilee.

If you know your geography you know that Samaria and Galilee are north of the city of Jerusalem and Samaria was an area where people called the Samaritans lived that were not well liked by the Jews the Samaritans were the the remnants of what had once been the 10 kingdoms of what were the northern kingdom of Israel.

They were taken into captivity by the Assyrians.

And the Assyrian policy when they took people into captivity was to move people around like pieces on a chess board so that they would not be near their family and their neighbors and friends, and they could not easily start a revolt against them once they were conquered.

They moved people around, and as the 10 kingdoms of the northern tribe of Israel were moved around, they became assimilated into the cultures around them, and they had a mixture of some of the truth about God, but it was mixed with heathen, pagan ideas of worship.

So Jesus passed through this area and then in verse 12 it says, and as he entered into a certain village, there met him 10 men that were lepers which stood afar off." And why are they standing afar off?

Because they were unclean and they had to announce that they were unclean wherever they went.

They were not allowed within the city limits of the towns.

Verse 13, and they lifted up their voices and said, Jesus, Master, have mercy on us.

Do we have that same desire for Jesus to have mercy on us?

Verse 14, and when he saw them, he said unto them, go show yourselves unto the priests.

If you go back to the book of Leviticus, we find that the way that the lepers that were back in the days of the time of Moses were supposed to be judged if they were healed or not was to go show themselves to the priests and the priests would make that determination whether or not they were clean or whole.

And so Jesus is sending them to the priests by way of the proper channel, go and let the priests know that you have been cleansed or healed.

Now they were not cleansed or healed at that point, but notice what they did.

It says, and it came to pass that as they went they acted upon the word of God, which is what we are to do today, they were cleansed, acting upon what God had said.

And 9 of them, verse 15, oh wait, are you following along?

And 1 of them, when he saw that he was healed, turned back and with a loud voice glorified God.

1 out of 10, just 10%, went back and said They were grateful, they were thankful to the mercy that God had had on all of them.

Notice what he did in verse 16, it says, and fell down on his face at his feet, giving him thanks, and he was a Samaritan.

The other 9 lepers that were healed were all Jews the 1 who was Thankful and returned back was a Samaritan 1 who did not have the fullest Connection and understanding the truths that God had given to his people.

He was a Samaritan verse 17 and Jesus answering said here's his question were there not 10 cleansed, but where are the 9?

Shouldn't they be grateful for the goodness of God upon them?

And yet they were content to be healed and cleansed and go on their way without a thought or care as to giving glory and credit to God for healing them.

Would Jesus say the same to us today if He were standing here in our church?

Where are the other 9, those who appreciate and value the rich blessings, not just temporal blessings, but the spiritual blessings that I have poured out upon them.

Verse 18, there are not found that return to give glory to God save this stranger, a Samaritan who was not privileged to know in the fullest sense all of the teachings that God had committed to the Jews.

And then verse 19, and he said unto him, arise, go thy way, thy faith hath made thee whole.

And I just have to make the point, recognize again that faith is all of believing of what God has said.

And what God said is in verse 14, go show yourselves unto the priests.

This man was healed because he believed what Jesus said and then he acted upon it.

Are we 1 of the 9 lepers who are not thankful or are we that 1 who recognizes the goodness of God and returns to give thanks to him.

You know, David understood what it meant to give thanks, King David.

Let's turn back in the Old Testament for a moment to the book 1 Chronicles.

When the ark was brought to Jerusalem, David was so joyful, so grateful, that he wrote a psalm in tribute to God that he had been able to bring God's holy ark, a symbol of his presence, into Jerusalem, where David had set up his capital for his kingdom.

And it says here, this is a Psalm that's recorded in Chronicles, 1 Chronicles 16, and we'll notice verses 8 through 12.

1 Chronicles 16, verses 8 through 12, and notice what David says about how we should reflect and give thanks to God.

1 Chronicles 16, beginning in verse 8, the Bible says, give thanks unto the Lord, call upon His name, now notice this, make known His deeds among the people.

So when God has been good to us, we don't just keep it to ourselves, we should let other people know as a testimony what God has done for us.

Verse 9, sing unto him, sing psalms unto him, talk ye of all his wondrous works.

Do we have much to talk about for what God has done for us?

Let the heart of them rejoice that seek the Lord.

Seek the Lord and His strength, seek His face continually, and now notice verse 12.

Remember, do we have a tendency to forget?

So many times the Bible begins statements with remember because we do have a tendency to forget, and I'm rebuking myself publicly.

Remember his marvelous works that he hath done, his wonders and the judgments of his mouth.

And so today, we want to remember just some of the great, marvelous, and amazing things that God has done for us.

There's a statement in the little book Steps to Christ, that classic book, where we are told the following.

Let us not be always thinking of our wants and never of the benefits we receive.

Too often I think I have a tendency to treat God like Santa Claus and just bring a list to Him rather than to spend that time in reflection and gratitude towards Him for what He has done for me, the benefits that I have received.

Then it says, We do not pray any too much, but we are too sparing of giving thanks.

We are the constant recipients of God's mercies.

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