Having an Attitude of Gratitude — Larry Powers

Well, good morning to all of you. It is a great blessing to get to be with you today and to teach from the Word of God. Dale mentioned my name is Larry. Powers. For those of you who I've not had the privilege of meeting before I'm a professor over at life Bible College it's the Bible College that pastor Chuck Smith went to many many years ago and It's been my blessing to teach there for a long time and to get to teach different Calvary Chapel pastors staff members and leaders.

One of my star students was just standing right here. Dale Goddard was a student in my class and is a just a blessing to know him and through him we got connected with pastor all so many years ago and Pastor all is one incredible guy.

I Just so honored when I get a chance to stand here and teach when he's gone. Well, how many got a Bible today? Cool, I'm in the right place. Open your Bible if you will. To Luke chapter 17. Luke chapter 17 the title of my message this morning is having an attitude of gratitude.

And the passage of Scripture we're going to look at together in a moment is Luke 17 verses 11 Through 19. There's an old and often told story about two angels that God sent to earth on a special assignment.

One of the angels was sent down to the earth to collect all of the prayers of People and bring them back up to heaven to God. The other angel was sent down to earth to collect all of the praises of people and bring them back up to heaven to God.

As the story goes the angel who was supposed to collect all of the prayers He was overwhelmed by the number of prayers. He had to take many many trips back and forth and back and forth and back and forth.

But the angel who was to collect all of the praises Was able to carry all of them back in just one hand. That old story though just a story has a truth and That truth is that we're so prone in many times to ask things of God and yet Forget to thank him for the blessings in our life.

Many many times we cry out to God for mercy and help and then when he helps us out We forget to thank him. I Don't know if you've heard the story about the man who was way high on a roof and He was tacking down some loose shingles that were up there.

And and so while he was up there on the steep roof he lost his footing and he started to slide down the roof toward the edge and The closer and closer he got to the edge thinking that he was gonna fall off and break his neck or whatever.

He just began to cry out, you know, God help me. Help me. Help me and Just before he got to the edge his belt happened to catch on a nail of the roof. And so it stopped his his sliding and he looked up to heaven and he said God I don't need your help after all.

It's okay. God. I got it handled on my own and I thought you know, how often I I'm like that and I wonder how often you might be like that. You know, we cry out to God for all the needs and circumstances and situations in our life and then when God helps us We forget to thank him.

Before us this morning in the Word of God is a story a Story about the importance of having an attitude of gratitude. It's a it's a story about ten people that Jesus helped when they cried out to him for mercy and help.

Jesus helped them. But only one out of the ten returned to give him. Thanks. It's a story in Luke 17 verses 11 through 19 look there or what the Word of God says. The Bible says now it happened as Jesus went to Jerusalem.

That he passed through the midst of Samaria and Galilee. Then as he entered a certain village there met him ten men who were lepers who stood afar off. And they lifted up their voices and said Jesus master Have mercy on us.

And when he saw them, he said to them go you. Show yourselves to the priests and so it was as they went they were cleansed. One of them when he saw that he was healed he returned. With a loud voice he glorified God.

He fell down on his face. At the feet of Jesus giving. Thanks, but he was a Samaritan. So Jesus answered and said we're not ten cleansed. Where are the nine? Were there not any found who returned to give glory to God except this foreigner?

And Jesus said to him arise. Go your way. Your faith has made you well. What an awesome story about the importance of having an attitude of gratitude. I like the story of this one man who returned this one leper who Jesus healed.

And what he did. I I hope someday when I get to heaven to meet this man. Like to talk to him about what it was and what what happened that day. We we don't even know his name. But there's a lot we can learn from this unnamed man and this morning I I want us to just notice three things if you happen to be a note-taker.

You might want to just grab a piece of paper and jot down these three things. There'll be a blessing to you. I want us to notice this morning the reason for his gratitude. Secondly, I want us to notice the the response he had in gratitude and finally the result of his gratitude.

The reason for his gratitude the response in gratitude and the result of his gratitude. The first thing we notice in this story is what we could call the reason for his gratitude. Why. Why did this man return and give thanks?

Why was he so grateful? Well that Jesus healed him, but more than that. It was the grace of God. He was thankful because Jesus did something that he didn't have to do. Jesus didn't have to heal this man, but he did that was the grace of God.

And so it is with you and so it is with me everything that happens in our life is the grace of God. The word grace literally means an undeserved gift. Now what the this man got was definitely undeserved.

Not only was he a leper, but he was a Samaritan. And the Jews despised and hated the Samaritans and so that Jesus would Graciously do this for him was amazing. And every good thing every gift every wonderful blessing in your life in my life.

It's the gift of God it all comes from him. James 1 verse 17 says every good and perfect gift comes from the father of light in whom there's no variableness or shadow of turning. And when you and I if we stop long enough to think about our lives.

We're so blessed. We have so many many things to be grateful for. We can be grateful for God's provision in our life. And in Philippians 4 and verse 19 Paul says my God shall supply all of your Needs according to his riches and glory by Christ Jesus and he has.

Think about the house you live in. Think about the car you drive. Think about the clothes you wear and the job you have. You and I are so blessed with the things that God has given us in our life. And then think about God's protection in your life not only his provision but his protection in your life.

You know in Psalm 91 and verse 11 The Bible says that God will give his angels charge over you to guard you in all of your way. I Mean you might have been in a car accident at some point in your life, but think how many accidents you weren't in.

Because God was protecting you. Think how many times you might have been injured you might have been sick something might have happened to you. But it didn't happen to you because of God's protection.

It's amazing. You know, we regrow grumble sometimes because of some difficulty in our life. We don't ever thank God for when the difficulties don't happen, you know. We just sort of think we're owed it in life, but not so.

And think think not only of God's provision and God's protection but think of God's people in your life. I've always liked Philippians 1 or 3. Paul says there, you know, I thank God on Every remembrance of you in other words.

He says man every time I think about you. I'm just so thankful. Think about your husband or think about your wife or. Think about your kids. I know sometimes they're disrespectful and rebellious, but They're good kids, aren't they?

Aren't you thankful for them? Think about your family and about your friends and and you think about the people who are sitting around you here and you think about this Wonderful church and you think about pastor.

Oh you and I have so many things to be thankful for. There is always Always something to be thankful for even when you don't think there's something to be thankful for there's something to be thankful for.

I Love the story of the great Bible teacher named Matthew Henry. He's written a set of wonderful Bible study books. Had Matthew Henry on one day. He was on his way home and he was robbed on the way home.

And he got home and his wife said to him, you know what happened he said I was robbed. She said, you know, you seem so cheerful. You seem so thankful about that. How can you be thankful about being robbed?

He said well first I'm thankful because I had never been robbed before this was the first time. Secondly, he says I'm thankful because they took my money, but they didn't take my life. Thirdly he said I'm thankful because they took all I had but it wasn't very much.

And he said and most of all I'm thankful that I was the one who was robbed and not the one who was robbing. We always have something to be thankful for. I'm reminded of the great Scottish preacher. His name was Alexander White.

Dr. White, you know used to always stand in the big pulpit in his church in Scotland great man of God and and His prayers were always so uplifting. He's always giving something some thanks to God for some blessing, you know.

Well, if you've been to Scotland, you know what the weather's like and one particular Sunday I mean it was it was horrendous out there. It was Snowing and cold and dark and it was a horrible day. They got into the church and one deacon, you know, he bumped somebody next to him and he said well I guess dr. White's not gonna have anything to thank the Lord for today.

Dr. White, you know, he got up in the pulpit and he began the services he always did in prayer. And he said Oh Lord, we thank you that it's not always like today. But whether it's not always like this Lord, we just thank you for that, you know there's always something to thank the Lord for even the things that May not seem like a blessing they really are.

I think of that the great woman of God Corrie ten Boom. If you've never read the book called the hiding place or seen the Billy Graham movie. You can probably you know get it in the bookstore, you know called the hiding place.

Y 'all need to do that. I'll make you so grateful. You know Corrie ten Boom and her family they lived in the days of Nazi Germany and and knowing the Jews were God's people. They they did everything they could to help them and they had this little place in their house that where they would hide the Jews it was the hiding place and The Gestapo found out what was going on.

And so all of them were arrested and and taken taken away and and Corrie and her sister Betsy were taken to that notorious prison camp called Ravensbrook and The conditions there were undescribable. One of the things that was especially difficult for Betsy was all of the fleas that were in the particular Area where they were, you know, some of the other ladies that were staying there.

They were in section that didn't have fleas. So Betsy was always grumbling, you know, and our Corrie was always grumbling and Betsy would say to her just be thankful to the Lord. Well later they found out that you know, a lot of the guards would abuse the women.

But that never happened in their section because the guards didn't want to go where the fleas were. And they began to thank God for the fleas. Thank you for the fleas. Lord, thank you for the fleas. We're so grateful for these.

Please you see there's always something to thank God for. Sunday school teacher was trying to teach her little children about that. And so she got him in a circle and you know. These little four and five year olds and she said let's just go around the circle and each one of you.

You know you you just tell something you're thankful for. She got to this one little four-year-old boy these big old honking glasses, right? And he said I I just want to thank God for my glasses. He said the glad my glasses keep the boys from hitting me and They keep the girls from kissing me.

Just so thankful for my glasses. It's always something. To be thankful for every good and perfect gift comes from God. In John 1 over 16 John says of of his goodness we have received grace upon grace.

It's the picture of the ways of the ocean. Just one wave of grace after another wave of grace. After another wave of grace after another wave of grace the goodness of God in your life in my life. It just keeps coming at us and at us and at us so much to be thankful for.

And we not only need to be thankful for what we think are the big things in life. We need to be thankful for the little things. The junior high teacher was doing an assignment with her. The kids in her class and so she assigned them to kind of you know.

Get in groups or work individually and she wanted them to come up with what they thought are the seven wonders of the world. After a few minutes she gathered all of the sheets of the students what they thought were the seven wonders of the world and the consensus was That they were the Great Pyramids the Taj Mahal st. Peter's Basilica the Panama Canal the Empire State Building the Grand Canyon and the Great Wall of China.

As. The teacher was gathering all the papers back from the students she noticed that there was this one junior high girl in her class who seemed to be having a hard time with the assignment and She said to her she said what's wrong sweetheart?

She says are you having a hard time coming up with? Seven things that you think are the great wonders of the world. And she said well. No, she said. Actually, I'm having a hard time limiting it to what I think are the seven wonders of the world.

There are so many of them. She said. And her teacher said well, why don't you just read out what you have and maybe the rest of us can help you. This girl read the following. She said I think the seven wonders of the world are to see to hear to taste to touch to love to laugh and to know God.

Always something to be thankful for. Not only the great things. But the little things in life. May God give all of us Grateful hearts. A second thing we can learn from this man in Luke chapter 17. Is the response he had in gratitude?

The reason for his gratitude was the grace and the goodness of God in his life. Secondly the response in gratitude that he had what did he do? He went back and gave Jesus. Thanks. In verse 15 one of them when he saw that he was healed he returned and with a loud voice.

He glorified God. He fell down on his face. At the feet of Jesus giving him Thanks. How awesome I want to be like that. You know I suppose it is possible in one sense to be grateful, but not give thanks.

Being grateful is something that's in our heart. Giving thanks is something that we do. It's possible to to feel grateful, but not give. Thanks. And Yet in another sense. I don't know that it is possible to be grateful and not give Thanks because if one truly is grateful.

And they can't but help. Wanting to do something to express their their their thanks. It's almost like fire and heat if you have fire you have heat. If you have a grateful heart it will want to express itself Thanks.

And that's what we need to do toward God as we begin to think about His grace and his goodness in our life. We can't help but being like This one man who went to give thanks man. That's why I like being in church.

I just love going to church because I like to worship the Lord and give thanks. Just to praise him and bless him for all of his goodness in my life. But I fear so many times We might feel grateful. But not give thanks not really go out of our way.

To give thanks. I don't know if you've heard the story of President Abraham Lincoln one of the great leaders of our country and One of the reasons why Abraham Lincoln was so great is he had a connection with the people in the afternoons he had a period of time several hours where he would actually open the Oval office and anyone who wanted to make an appointment to come and talk to him they could.

And so you can imagine that particular time of day was pretty crowded, you know people wanted to come and ask him about this and asking about that and ask him about the other thing and there was one sweet old lady who she made an appointment to see him.

She was ushered into the Oval Office and and she sat down in the chair across the desk from that great President Abraham Lincoln and he looked at her and he said. He said welcome madam. He said what may I do for you?

And she looked up at him and she reached out and she grabbed his little basket and she put it up on his desk. And she said to him she said mr. President I haven't come here today to ask anything from you.

She said I just made some cookies for you. They're in the basket. She said I just wanted to come today and thank you for being such a great president. Just want you to know I appreciate you as the story goes a Tear began to run down that long face of Abraham Lincoln and he looked at her and he said madam.

He said in being a president so many people have come into my office and have sat where you have sat. But you are the first one to come in and Say, thank you. I Thought you know how often I'm I'm like all those other people, but I want to be like that one lady Who came and gave thanks.

I Like Psalm 103 in verse 1 the psalmist says bless the Lord. Oh my soul, and all that is within me bless his holy name. Bless the Lord. Oh my soul and forget not all of his benefits. In other words as we begin to think of the grace and goodness of God in our life.

We need to start to put down to count to think about each one of those blessings. And to give God thanks for those things. There was a young lady named Barbara Kipfer Who was challenged to do that? To forget not all of God's benefits.

As a teenager someone challenged her to do that and so she got one of these spiral notebooks and Every every night before she went to bed. She would just pull out the spiral notebook and she would write down a few things.

That she was thankful for a few things that she was grateful for. Each day she did that. She filled up one book and then another book and then another book and then another book and over the next 20 years.

She filled out dozens of those spiral notebooks. What she wrote down is in a book you can buy called 14 ,000 things to be thankful for 14 ,000 things. Bless the Lord oh my soul and forget not any one of his benefits.

Near the history of the church. There was a great hymn writer a great songwriter named Francis Haverhill, and she did something like that. What she would do is each on each day at the end of the day. She would get the calendar and she would write on the calendar a few things.

She was thankful for a few things that she was grateful for. Became a great blessing in her life and and she eventually wrote a famous song of the church a song called count your blessings. Let me read some of the words she wrote she wrote when upon life's billows you are tempest-tossed.

When you are discouraged thinking all is lost. Count your many blessings name them one by one and it will surprise you what the Lord has done. Are you ever burdened with a load of care? Does your cross seem heavy you are called to bear?

Count your blessings. Every doubt will fly and you will be singing as the days go by. Count your blessings name them one by one count your many blessings. See what God has done bless the Lord oh my soul.

And forgot forget not any one of his benefits. Count your blessings a Few years ago. There was a pastor named Jack Hinton from back in North Carolina and he was invited to go and do some ministry in a leper colony in Tobago and One of the in one of the evening sessions.

It was some his responsibility to lead all of the lepers in singing. And he led them in a few songs and then he realized well we have we have time for one more song. So we just said to the the group of lepers that were there.

He said does any any of you have a song you want to sing? Oh. This lady she stood up in the back and he hadn't noticed her until that moment. And and when she stood up man, it just it really took him back for a second.

The only thing about leprosy, you know. It just eats away at the body and and so here was this lady and and her you know. Her ears were almost gone and her nose was almost gone. And the flesh was being a way eaten away from her lips and and she stood up and she raised her hand that had no Fingers on it.

Anybody have a song you want to sing? She stood up. She raised up her hand and she said can we sing the song count your blessings? That's awesome. And I want to be like that. I Want to be like this man here who realized the grace of God and did something about it.

Who went and praised the Lord? I want to be like that leprous woman who said you know what? I want to sing count your blessings. God gotta help us to have thankful grateful hearts. But there's a third and final thing that we can learn from this Leprous man who was healed in Luke 17 and that is what we call the result of his gratitude.

The reason for it. He saw the grace of God. The response in it he wept and gave thanks. The result of it what happened? The only one of the ten who went back what happened. Verse 19 Jesus said to him arise and go your way your faith has made you well.

We're well, there is an important word in Greek. It means blessed saved and blessed. Hey ten people were healed that day. Only one was saved and blessed this man got to enjoy a blessing that the other nine did not.

Did you know That there is a special blessing for people who are thankful and grateful. When you're thankful and grateful it not only blesses God and blesses other people. It actually blesses you. There's something in Giving thanks and and being grateful that will have an impact that will have an effect on you.

I think this is why The Bible says in 1st Thessalonians 518 in everything give thanks for this is the will of God for you. God is a blessing God. Yeah, you know you read Genesis 1 day 1 and he blessed it.

Day 2 and he blessed it. Day 3 and he blessed it. Day 4 and he blessed it. I mean he's a he's a blessing God and he wants you to experience his blessing and goodness in your life. And it's when you and I are grateful and thankful that not only do we bless God and bless other people but we are blessed now this by the way is Something that medical science is learning.

You always love how science finally catches up with the Bible, right? The Bible tells you to do things all the time because God knows what's good for you. What's best for you right. And then after a while, you know science really the medical science figures out.

Oh my goodness. This is good for you. Being grateful being thankful. Do you know that's good for you? Medical science is learning that. You can look up an article on web MD Called listen called boost your health with a dose of gratitude.

The subline if you want to get healthier be thankful. Can I just read you a portion of? The article it says can a grateful heart enhance your health. A growing body of research says yes. Gratitude as a conscious practice offers a whole host of health benefits.

A Series of studies show gratitude promotes physical and emotional well-being. Improves one's ability to cope with stress and bolsters positive interaction with other people. Furthermore research shows grateful individuals report having more energy and less physical complaints than their non-grateful counterparts.

And quote Gratitude is not only good for your heart. It's good for your health. This man went away blessed. Because he was grateful. Because he was thankful he got to experience something that didn't happen to somebody else.

There's something about gratitude and thankfulness. That has a transforming impact on you and on me. I'm reminded of the story many years ago of a missionary over in China. And it was tough. And in his missionary work he was he was getting very discouraged in fact he was depressed.

And so he decided to just take a little time away and go and visit one of the other mission stations. He thought you know. Maybe I can just get a different perspective on things and maybe the Lord will speak to me.

And so he made his way over to another mission station and when he got there He went into the the dining room to eat and he looked up and on the wall. He saw a sign and and two words. Changed his life.

It was a little sign that just simply said Try Thanksgiving try Thanksgiving. He went back to his room, and he just he got down on his knees and he began to worship the Lord. Lord, I'm sorry that I've been angry and upset and discouraged and depressed about all that's not going on in my life.

And I've not been realizing all of the blessings that you bring to me. I just want to worship you and praise you and and you know what happened. His perspective in life totally changed it totally turned around for the person.

Who is thankful and grateful? There's a blessing in it there's a special blessing and I I was reminded of this a couple of weeks ago when we We connected with some friends of ours. They're pastors back in, Ohio.

For one of their anniversaries some people got together and they gave them as a gift a Greek island cruise. And they were having a great time on this island cruise and they went to this one. I own called Minos and when they went into the port of Minos the the particular slip where the boat was supposed to go into there were two smaller ships on either side and it was very Narrow and so the captain he went down on the deck.

He had a walkie-talkie and he was Talking to this person in that person and it took him almost an hour to maneuver this big Cruise ship into this small little slip. It was quite amazing. And our friends Bill and Harriet, you know, they were standing on the deck watching all this just tripping out, right?

This I mean, this is pretty amazing. And when they finally got it in and you know roped all down they just a group of them. They just began to cheer, you know. They went back to the room and Harriet said, you know, she said I think we should write a thank-you note to the captain.

She sat down and just wrote a little note. Thank you so much for being such a great captain. They went to the ship steward and they said could you give this to the captain? He said sure. No problem a Few hours later there was a knock on their cabin door.

It was the steward. He had an envelope in his hand. He said This envelope is from the captain it's for you. They opened it up. It was a personal invitation to have dinner that night with the captain. The captain usually, you know ate in his own little special dining room.

But that night he ate with all of the passengers and he had our friends Bill and Harriet sit right next to him. And he told him he said, you know, you're the first people who have ever given me a thank-you note.

For being a captain man, and I heard that I thought man they got a special blessing. Because they were thankful. As they were grateful and I thought man, I want to be like that. I want to have an attitude of gratitude.

That's what we learned from this Leprous man who was healed so long ago to have an attitude of gratitude. What do we learn from this man? We have learned the reason for gratitude is to see everything in life as a gracious gift from God everything.

What do we learn from this man? We have learned the response in gratitude that we ought to have is to give thanks not just be grateful but to give thanks. We've learned that the result of gratitude that can happen in your life and my life is the blessing of God.

It's not only good for your heart. It's good for your health. There's a blessing. That's there God help us. To have grateful hearts grateful for so many things. But especially grateful for Jesus Christ.

Back at the Civil War there was a man Who received a draft notice to go into the war? He lived in New York and When he got the notice he was quite concerned. His wife had died about a year before that and he had a few kids and a farm.

They thought man if I go off to war what's gonna happen with my kids? What's gonna happen with the farm? And there was a young man in the town where he lived who heard about it and he. He went over and he said you know what I?

Heard about your situation that you got this draft notice. He said I'll go in your place so they went down to the draft office and Arrangements were made and this young man went in the place of this other man.

A few weeks later a Notice came back that that young man was killed In one of the battles and and this farmer this father. He you know he thought that that that was me. He took my place. So we went down to the you know the army office, and he said you know I'd like to do something for that person.

Who took my place? He said that when he bring his body back. He says I want to. I want to bury him in the village churchyard, and he did. And he had a headstone put on this man's grave and and under his name he put these words He died for me.

He died for me. And every week he would go and he would put flowers on that That gravestone he died for me. He died for me. He died for me. I thought man What a picture of Jesus he died for me. He died for you what grateful hearts we ought to have a Wonderful man of God.

George Herbert Wrote these words. I finished with them a prayer. He wrote O Lord you have given us all things richly to enjoy. We ask of you just one more thing. Give us grateful hearts. Let's pray Lord.

We come this morning with such great gratitude in our hearts. For all of your many blessings. We pause for a moment. Lord we think of your provision. Our house our car our clothes our job. We think of your protection.

We think of the people you've put in our lives. You are so good to us so gracious to us. We come Lord to give you. Thanks today. And we know as we do. Not only will you be blessed, but we will be blessed and you want that blessing for us.

Help us Lord. We pray to have an attitude of Gratitude and God we pray for anyone who might be here this morning. Who does not know Jesus Christ is their Savior and their Lord who does not have a personal relationship with you.

Does not have the assurance that Their sins are forgiven and that they're on their way to heaven. We pray that right now by your Holy Spirit. He would draw people to you. Open up the hearts of those who don't know you and we'll thank you for it in Jesus name.

We pray.