What are you thankful for?
That’s a good question for this Thanksgiving week
For what are you thankful?
It does us good to think that through - & express it
And, I’d like to give you an assignment for next Sunday
-let’s plan for next Sunday, for me to have a short message
-& then we’ll have communion & while we’re having communion
-you can share some things for which you’re thankful
It’s good to learn to be thankful & to express it
But, how about on the other side - How good are we at being thanked?
It’s good to be thanked - isn’t it?
When someone says, “Hey, thanks for what you did!”
We say, “Ah, you’re welcome!” - & we feel good about that
It feels real good in life - to be thankful & to be thanked
When we thank people - or God, for our blessings
-that does us good
When we’re thanked by others for what we’ve done
-that does us good
But, what about when we do things & we’re not thanked for what we’ve done?
-How do we do with that?
“Ah, if no-one cares, why should I even bother!”
“They don’t even appreciate what I do!”
You can easily get discouraged, disappointed & let down
& pretty soon, you don’t do what you were doing as a service to others
-you give up when no-one thanks you & expresses appreciation
-at least, you give up more readily
It’s real encouraging - to thank & be thanked
-but it can be discouraging when we serve others without being thanked
-that’s what I want to consider this a.m. - as we enter our Thanksgiving week
-& our passage in Luke really addresses this
You’ve probably heard the story of the 10 lepers
What lesson do you usually think of?
Well - we should be like the one Samaritan
-who went back & said, “Thank-you!”
-that’s a good lesson here - of the 10 who were healed
-we should be like the thankful one - we should express our thanks
-Jesus healed all 10 - 9/10 went on their way - happy they were healed
-only one went back - & it’s a beautiful example of an expression of worship
-remember, the word worship literally means, “to bow down to”
Luke 17:15-16
One of them, when he saw he was healed, came back, praising God in a loud voice. 16 He threw himself at Jesus' feet and thanked him — and he was a Samaritan.
The fact that he was a Samaritan was worth making note of
-as the Jews didn’t like Samaritans & vise a versa
-tradition & heritage only go so far - what really counts is your faith
-& response to the Lord
So, a very good & obvious lesson for us to learn from this,
-is the importance of being thankful to the Lord & others
-who have ministered to us
-but this morning, let’s turn the tables & learn the importance of ministering
-without being thanked
-or, ministering to many, & being thanked by only a few
You know, we’re suppose to minister to others - right?
We’re to serve others - we’re to love others
It all comes down to about the same thing - we’re to help other people in need
-that’s God’s calling on all our lives - we serve God by serving people
-& it will look different from person to person
-& different from time to time & situation to situation
-but it all comes down to helping, serving, ministering & loving others
1 John 3:11; 16-18
This is the message you heard from the beginning: We should love one another.
16 This is how we know what love is: Jesus Christ laid down his life for us. And we ought to lay down our lives for our brothers. 17 If anyone has material possessions and sees his brother in need but has no pity on him, how can the love of God be in him? 18 Dear children, let us not love with words or tongue but with action and in truth.
As you go about serving God, serving & ministering to people
-what will happen, is often times, you won’t be thanked
-in fact, maybe, most of the time, you won’t be thanked
-that is a big part of the message that Jesus is getting through here
-if it’s any reflection on frequency - you might only be thanked 10% of the time
-your services might be appreciated
-but, that appreciation won’t be communicated to you
-that’s from Jesus’ perspective - as the healer - as the one ministering love
-& that’s likely to be the case for us as we minister love to others
-look at what Luke recorded from Jesus’ teachings just before this
Luke 17:7-10
"Suppose one of you had a servant plowing or looking after the sheep. Would he say to the servant when he comes in from the field, 'Come along now and sit down to eat'? 8 Would he not rather say, 'Prepare my supper, get yourself ready and wait on me while I eat and drink; after that you may eat and drink'? 9 Would he thank the servant because he did what he was told to do? 10 So you also, when you have done everything you were told to do, should say, 'We are unworthy servants; we have only done our duty.'"
Jesus’ main lesson here - is the servant serves regardless of being thanked
-we’re to serve & minister love to others because it’s the right thing to do
-not so that we can be rewarded with thanks & appreciation
So, let’s summarize this with a few points to learn
First, we’re suppose to be like Jesus Christ & serve others
Mark 10:45
“For even the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many."
The basic message of the whole Bible to believers & followers of God
-is that we’re to love other people
-& we don’t just think about it or talk about it - but we do it by serving
-we love people & we love God - by serving
Of course, it’s important to recognize that we become God’s children
-through faith in Jesus Christ
-it was God who loved us first - He loved us so much,
-that Jesus died for our sin when He died on the cross
-He gave His life as a ransom for us
-that way, our sin can be forgiven & we can now be God’s children
-& we can now serve God
-because God loves us so much, we love God & we serve God
-& serving God, to a large extent, means that we serve others
A second point could be, that when people serve us, -we should be careful to thank them for their service
-thanking & being thanked is very encouraging
-& encouragement is an important part of keeping us all on track
-it’s important in keeping us running the race that God marks out for us
Hebrews 3:12-13
See to it, brothers, that none of you has a sinful, unbelieving heart that turns away from the living God. 13 But encourage one another daily, as long as it is called Today, so that none of you may be hardened by sin's deceitfulness.
So, let’s be careful to try to express our thanks regularly & frequently
-to those who serve & minister to us
-& that goes a long way in terms of encouragement
-which is something that we need
But as nice as it is to be encouraged with thanksgiving,
-realize, & this is a third main lesson
-most of the time, we won’t be thanked for our service by those we serve
-it’s nice to be thanked - but probably most of the time - we won’t
Jesus taught - “Hey, you’re a servant! The master doesn’t have to thank you!”
-now, it would be nice if he/she did - but that’s not the point
-you have a duty to serve
-so, plain & simple - serve the master - put your mind to that
-you are serving the master
-you are not doing it to be rewarded with applause & gratitude
-you are doing it because you are the servant
-it helps immensely to realize this from the beginning
-when you set out to serve the Lord
-most of the time, you will not be thanked
-so, make it clear in your mind - you are in it to serve the Lord
This is important to all of life - we are serving God & not primarily people
-this is our fourth point - we serve God not people
-of course, we serve people because that’s how we serve God
-but its primarily God Whom we serve
Colossians 3:17; 22-24
And whatever you do, whether in word or deed, do it all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him.
22 Slaves, obey your earthly masters in everything; and do it, not only when their eye is on you and to win their favor, but with sincerity of heart and reverence for the Lord. 23 Whatever you do, work at it with all your heart, as working for the Lord, not for men, 24 since you know that you will receive an inheritance from the Lord as a reward. It is the Lord Christ you are serving.
This is really important - as we serve people & we’re not thanked
-as much as we’d like from people, for what we do
-it shouldn’t matter so much to us
-because we’re mainly, serving God
-& even though people fail to reward us
-with something as simple as encouraging thanks
-God, rewards us & this is our fifth point & lesson
God is faithful to reward us!
Colossians 3:23-24
Whatever you do, work at it with all your heart, as working for the Lord, not for men, 24 since you know that you will receive an inheritance from the Lord as a reward. It is the Lord Christ you are serving.
When you keep that perspective - that you’re serving God
-you’ll be a much happier worker
-because you know God appreciates your service & He will reward you!
-in fact, you might be better rewarded when no-one thanks you
-as compared to when you are thanked & rewarded by people
Matthew 6:1-4
"Be careful not to do your 'acts of righteousness' before men, to be seen by them. If you do, you will have no reward from your Father in heaven.
2 "So when you give to the needy, do not announce it with trumpets, as the hypocrites do in the synagogues and on the streets, to be honored by men. I tell you the truth, they have received their reward in full. 3 But when you give to the needy, do not let your left hand know what your right hand is doing, 4 so that your giving may be in secret. Then your Father, who sees what is done in secret, will reward you.
God will reward you - so, love & serve the Lord
-with all your heart, soul, mind & strength!
-& look forward to His most blessed rewards
How does God reward us?
That’s a subject for another time
-suffice it to say - when God goes shopping for presents
-He knows what He’s doing
-you aren’t going to be disappointed when you open His presents
-you won’t just put into the drawer
-with all the unused presents from years past
-God knows how to fill out your paycheck, with bonuses as well
-actually, I think our paychecks will be fairly meager
-but our bonuses will be huge - that’s grace
-we really don’t deserve much of a paycheck at all for what we do
-but He gives us great bonuses
-God is very good, let’s understand, He’s perfect, at rewarding us!
So, the point of all this - let’s serve God
Let’s be faithful servants of the Lord - willing workers for Him
Romans 12:9-13
Love must be sincere. Hate what is evil; cling to what is good. 10 Be devoted to one another in brotherly love. Honor one another above yourselves. 11 Never be lacking in zeal, but keep your spiritual fervor, serving the Lord. 12 Be joyful in hope, patient in affliction, faithful in prayer. 13 Share with God's people who are in need. Practice hospitality.
In the verses before this - we’re admonished to give ourselves to God
-& to realize, that we’re all placed into the body of Christ - the church
-each of us with special gifts to serve with
-we each have a place in God’s program & family
Is it nice to be encouraged & rewarded with appreciation from others? Yes!
Should we be careful to express our thanks to each other? Yes!
Will there be times where we serve & aren’t thanked? Yes!
Probably most of the time
Keep serving the Lord!
Put it in perspective - you are serving the Lord!
Jesus is your example!
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