Happy Father’s Day! If you look at the top corner of your phone, and it says 5G, congratulations! You have full bandwidth, zero lag, max upload and download capability! But imagine if you phone only had the ability to download. Or worse, imagine if in life, you could only receive but never give? Today is Father’s Day. Imagine if you had a father who could only “take” and never “give?” {pause}
The people who’ve had the greatest impact on our lives give as much (or more) than they ever receive. Sometimes earthly parents can miss the mark. But when it comes to our Father in heaven, he never misses the mark. He excels in generosity. If you have faith, there are no usage limits on God’s generosity. You can download day or night. But God also wants his generosity to “overflow” through us. Upward in worship, outward in kindness, service, and sacrifice.
I grew up singing hymns. I lost count of the number of times I sang, “Count your blessing, count them one by one… Count your blessings, see what God hath done.” Sometimes as a youngster I was in too foul a mood to sing. But that’s exactly what the song is about. When you’re discouraged, and think all is lost. When you’re burdened with a load of cares. When the cross seems too heavy to bear. When others seem to have lands and gold… When the world’s minted its first trillionaire… do you know “Trillionaire” doesn’t pass spellcheck? It’s not even supposed to be a thing, but it now it is.
You don’t have to be a believer to count your blessings. Mt 5:45 Jesus says the Father “causes his sun to rise on the evil and good, and sends rain to fall on the righteous and unrighteous.” Universally, God doesn’t hold anything back. He feeds the sparrow and clothes the lilies of the field. There is a baseline level of generosity everyone participates in. It’s what makes this life amazing. People experience a beautiful sunset, the birth of a child, or success, and they feel a sense of thankfulness. Those without faith, attribute good to the Universe or “Luck.”
In Acts 14:15-17, the Bible says, “God… did not leave himself without a witness, since he did what is good by giving you rain from heaven and fruitful seasons and filling you with food and your hearts with joy." Psalm 145:9,15-16 says, “The Lord is good to everyone; his compassion rests on all he has made... The eyes of all look to you, and you give them their food at the proper time. You open your hand and satisfy the desire of every living thing.” I just love that! God didn’t leave us without a witness. It rests on everyone.
Ever wonder how a person can end up billion miles from God?” The Bible says our first disconnect is that though what may be true of God is self-evident, we neither thank God nor glorify through worship. And our hearts grow darkened. Once you start down that path it’s a fast, slippery, dangerous slope.
In Luke 17:11-19, we find Ten Lepers crying out for mercy. Leprosy was a horrific, isolating disease. If contracted, you’d consider yourself one of the unluckiest people in the world. Sometimes we find people, even in the most atrocious of circumstances, able to give thanks to God. but there are people who take all the lemons and squeeze them into lemonade. If you can’t thank God in the good times, you’ll certainly not thank him in the darker times. It’s a deliberate choice to remain thankful even when common grace seems temporarily withheld, when the medical report is bad, the bank account is dry.
The Bible speaks of giving thanks to God not “for” bad things—that can be quite absurd—but rather giving thanks to God “through” all things. 1 Thessalonians 5:16-18 says, “Rejoice always, pray constantly, give thanks in everything; for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus.” I hope you heard that. It’s not God’s will to give thanks “for” everything but “in” everything. Philippians 4:6-7, “Don’t worry about anything, but in everything, through prayer and petition with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus.”
Could I share one more? Habakkuk 3:17-18, “Though the fig tree does not bud and there is no fruit on the vines, though the olive crop fails and the fields produce no food, though the flocks disappear from the pen and there are no herds in the stalls, yet I will celebrate in the Lord; I will rejoice in the God of my salvation!” He’s not celebrating famine, drought, livestock death, crop failure, leprosy, disease, or death. That’s absurd. Habakkuk is looking above the horizon of suffering and celebrating the glory and salvation of God. That’s radical gratitude; it’s less than common.
In Luke 17, Ten Lepers are standing by the roadside crying out for mercy. We don’t expect them to be thankful for their lot in life—that’s absurd. But these men are throwing up a “Hail Mary” pass, hoping against all hope someone hear their plea and show them any level of mercy what-so-ever. Luke 17:11-13, "While traveling to Jerusalem, he passed between Samaria and Galilee. As he entered a village, ten men with leprosy met him. They stood at a distance and raised their voices, saying, “Jesus, Master, have mercy on us!” We’ve tried everything else… why not Jesus?
Once Lara and I were at a NASCAR track, among hundreds of sun-scorched fans. We were squeezed into this tiny area, faces pressed against a chain link fence, like malnourished prisoners. Lara was hoping to get driver autographs, but not one of them would dignify our agony. One guy had a fishing pole and stood on a balcony, casting his memorabilia down to drivers. He did pretty good.
As I sat there, I had two thoughts: One was, “This is how I’m spending my vacation? Ugh.” The other was, “Nobody here knows me. I have nothing to lose, I have no shame…” So in my loudest, most obnoxious voice, I started screaming driver names like a psychopath. A new driver was walking by… so I asked, “what his name….” … So, I let loose, “Juan! Juan!” Lara did get that autograph, and that was the last time she wanted me to take her to a race.
These Ten Lepers screamed, “Jesus! Master!” Why not? What did they have to lose. Luke 17:14, “When he saw them, he told them, “Go and show yourselves to the priests.” And while they were going, they were cleansed.” Maybe this was common grace, maybe it was something more. But one thing is certain—God was generous to cleanse them and remove their scourge.
But there is a twist to this story. Luke 17:15, “But one of them, seeing that he was healed, returned and, with a loud voice, gave glory to God. He fell facedown at his feet, thanking him. And he was a Samaritan.” One of these men never made it to the priest. He did himself even better. He made his way back to the feet of Jesus to say thanks.
Imagine the scene: The leper realizes God’s grace. He stops dead in his tracks. He looks down at his hands. The spots are gone. The feeling is back. He realizes this isn't just a random stroke of luck. This is a special kindness—He shifts from merely enjoying the gift to turning back to face the Gift-Giver.
In Luke 17:17-19 Jesus says to the Leper, “Were not ten cleansed? Where are the nine? Didn't any return to give glory to God except this foreigner?” And he told him, “Get up and go on your way. Your faith has saved you.” Isn’t that ironic? Romans 2:4 asks, “Do you despise the riches of his kindness, restraint, and patience, not recognizing that God’s kindness is intended to lead you to repentance?" All Ten received the same kindness, all ten were cleaned… but only one returned? Nine out of ten walked away from a physical miracle without ever knowing the Miracle Maker? It shouldn’t be… that we enjoy every manner of God’s grace (gift of health, family, love, good things) and walk away with zero bars of gratitude to God.
Gratitude, and to a larger degree faith, allows you to download EVERYTHING God has waiting for you. The Leper didn’t just want healing, he wanted to know Jesus. For his faith, he received something infinitely greater than the cleansing of his body… Jesus commends him, “Your faith has saved you.”
God’s kindness is never meant to be our final destination. Ultimately, it’s meant to turn us around on our heels to repentance, and bring us to a place of worship. The pinnacle of gratitude is when a physical blessing becomes a runway to spiritual salvation! The lone returning leper doesn’t run a step further toward his old life. He returns praising God “with a loud voice.” Do you suppose his Praise was louder than his First Plea? Nine got their life back.
One got his soul back.
We have three Schnauzers at home. Whenever I give RockE a treat, he runs off with the gift. Haddie doesn’t even come. I’ve never had a dog that didn’t care about getting a treat. Now when I give Roarie a gift, he stays glued to my leg waiting to receive even more, he wants all that I have to give. He knows I’m very generous, which is why he’s so big for a Schnauzer, but I digress…
We don’t want you to leave this morning without inviting you to stop by the Point and Explore Complete Hope in Christ. Nine out of Ten. 90% will walk out that door and think nothing more of the grace of God. But maybe… there’s a Samaritan Leper eager to explore every spiritual blessing available in Christ?