1. GRATITUDE
FORGOTTEN VIRTUES—5

2. Luke 17:11-18
11 Now on his way to Jerusalem, Jesus
traveled along the border between Samaria
and Galilee. 12 As he was going into a village,
ten men who had leprosy met him. They
stood at a distance 13 and called out in a loud
voice, “Jesus, Master, have pity on us!”
14 When he saw them, he said, “Go, show
yourselves to the priests.” And as they went,
they were cleansed.

3. Luke 17:11-18
15 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.
17 Jesus asked, “Were not all ten cleansed?
Where are the other nine? 18 Has no one
returned to give praise to God except this
foreigner?”

4. Gratitude:
The quality of being thankful; readiness to
show appreciation for and to return kindness.

5. Isaiah 51:1
51 “Listen to me, you who pursue
righteousness
and who seek the LORD:
Look to the rock from which you were cut
and to the quarry from which you were
hewn;

6. I. The Position Of All!
(Notice the lepers’ condition)
Truths from this passage:

7. Numbers 5:2-3
2 “Command the Israelites to send away from the
camp anyone who has a defiling skin disease[a] or a
discharge of any kind, or who is ceremonially
unclean because of a dead body. 3 Send away male
and female alike; send them outside the camp so
they will not defile their camp, where I dwell among
them.”

8. Eaton’s Bible Dictionary says of this disease.
“Leprosy was“ the outward and visible sign of the
innermost spiritual corruption; a meet emblem in its
small beginnings, its gradual spread, its internal
disfigurement, its dissolution little by little of the
whole body, of that which corrupts, degrades, and
defiles man’s inner nature, and renders him unmeet
to enter the presence of a pure and holy God”.

9. Like the leper, we too were isolated from true
intimacy,
Like the leper, we too were outcasts (from the
Kingdom of God),
Like the leper, we too were in the process of loosing
everything to sin,
Like the leper, we too were being destroyed by that
which was in our bodies, the law of sin and death.

10. Luke 17:11-18
11 Now on his way to Jerusalem, Jesus traveled along
the border between Samaria and Galilee. 12 As he
was going into a village, ten men who had
leprosy[a] met him. They stood at a distance

11. We see here the position of the lepers.
Firstly, they were In An Awful Position- Luke says
here they stood afar off. The disease of lepers was a
painful disease but the physical pain was not the
most terrible part of the disorder.
Lepers were separated.

12. Romans 5:6
6 You see, at just the right time, when we were still
powerless, Christ died for the ungodly. NIV

13. Here the Greek word for mercy is "eleeo" {el-
eh-eh’-o} have mercy or compassion on.

14. Grace is getting what you don’t deserve
and mercy is not getting what you
deserve.

15. II. The Prayer Of All!
Note: The lepers’ cry
Truths from this passage:

16. Luke 17:11-18
13 and called out in a loud voice, “Jesus,
Master, have pity on us!” 14 When he saw
them, he said, “Go, show yourselves to the
priests.” And as they went, they were
cleansed

17. Notice two things here quickly:
Their Observation- They saw and they sensed their
need. You don’t pray and call out for help unless you
feel your need.

18. The reason sinners don’t come to Christ for
salvation is that they don’t sense their need.
But the loneliness and the pain of this disease
were evident to these ten lepers
They knew they needed help and there was
none to be found except maybe in this one
called Jesus, whom they heard healed the sick.
There is no doubt they need help, so they cry
out for mercy

19. Notice two things here quickly:
Their Observation- They saw and they sensed their
need. You don’t pray and call out for help unless you
feel your need.
Their Obedience- Prayer without obedience is
useless. Jesus tells them to go to the priest.

20. III. The Praise Of One!
Notice: One lepers’ celebration
Truths from this passage:

21. Why did this one react
differently?

22. There are three distinctions between him
and the others.
A. Note the perception of gratitude.

23. There are three distinctions between him
and the others.
B. Note the priority of gratitude.

24. If you don’t give God thanks, it won’t be long until your
obedience just becomes a job to do, you lose the
meaning of what God is wanting you to do.

25. There are three distinctions between him
and the others.
C. Note the perfection of gratitude.
As he drew near to where the Lord
was, he glorified God.

26. The Greek means that he made the Lord glorious, he
manifested the worth of the Lord. He came to Jesus
and fell down before Him in perfect submission and
gave Him thanks.
The Lord asked the question, Were there not ten
cleansed? Where are the nine?
Then note what He told this man, “Arise, go thy way,
thy faith has made thee whole.”

27. III. The Praise Of One!
Notice: One lepers’ celebration
Truths from this passage:

28. Luke 17:15-19
15 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.
17 Jesus asked, “Were not all ten cleansed?
Where are the other nine? 18 Has no one
returned to give praise to God except this
foreigner?” 19 Then he said to him, “Rise and go;
your faith has made you well.”

29. Here is the key to the whole issue. All were in
the same awful position. All prayed and all were
healed. Yet only one of the ten returned to offer
thanksgiving.
Notice: The Opportunity Of Praise- And one of
them, when he saw that he was healed, turned
back. He saw a reason to praise. He saw a
difference Jesus had made. He saw a change
wrought by Christ. He saw an opportunity to
praise God.

30. WILL YOU BE THE ONE?

31. This a true story: The Object Of Praise
One day they came to the pastor and told him the
wanted to give a monetary gift as a memory to our son
who died in battle. The pastor said, "That’s a wonderful
gesture on your part. He asked if it was ok to tell the
congregation and they said that it was. So the next
Sunday he told the congregation of the gift given in
memory of the dead son.
On the way home from church, another couple were
driving down the highway when the father said to his
wife, "Why don’t we give a gift because of our son?"
And his wife said, "But our son didn’t die in any
conflict! Our son is still alive!" Her husband replied,
"That’s exactly my point! That’s all the more reason we
ought to give in thanks to God."

32. UNGRATEFUL MINDSETS

33. One man named Charles Brown, gave several
suggestions as to why the other nine never returned to
give thanks.
These are only suggestions, but they reveal a whole lot
about human nature.

34. · One waited to see if the cure was real.
· One waited to see if it would last.
· One said he would see Jesus later.
· One decided that he had never had leprosy.
· One said he would have gotten well anyway.
· One gave the glory to the priests.
· One said, "O, well, Jesus didn’t really do anything."
· One said, "Any rabbi could have done it."
· One said, "I was already much improved."
And then there was one who returned to give God
thanks.

35. I WANT IT NOW!

36. Luke 15:11-12
11 Jesus continued: “There was a man who had two
sons. 12 The younger one said to his father, ‘Father, give
me my share of the estate.’ So he divided his
property between them. NIV

37. I DESERVE MORE!

38. Luke 15:29
29 But he answered his father, ‘Look! All these years I’ve
been slaving for you and never disobeyed your orders.
Yet you never gave me even a young goat so I could
celebrate with my friends. NIV

39. EXPOSE ANY UNGRATEFULNESS

40. MATERIAL
FINANCIAL
RELATIONAL
CIRCUMSTANCIAL

41. DECIDE TO TURN BLESSINGS INTO
PRAISE

42. A Grateful Aptitude – is simply a mindset of
appreciation for the gift of life. This type thinking will
allow a person to rise even when others think that they
are standing on quicksand

43. Gratefulness is a mindset. You are thankful for
everything. Appreciate anything – find good in each
situation– and rejoice through every circumstance. This
allows you to have peace in the midst of your mess
because you are thanking God for never losing a battle
yet!

44. EVERY BLESSING YOU POUR OUT I’LL
TURN BACK TO PRAISE.

45. Philippians 4:11-13
11 I am not saying this because I am in need, for I
have learned to be content whatever the
circumstances. 12 I know what it is to be in need,
and I know what it is to have plenty. I have
learned the secret of being content in any and
every situation, whether well fed or
hungry, whether living in plenty or in want. 13 I
can do all this through him who gives me
strength. NIV

46. EVERY BLESSING I DON’T TURN BACK
TO PRAISE TURNS INTO PRIDE.

47. Ungrateful – unsatisfied –displeased –
discontented – unhappy – ill at ease - no
peace….

48. Ungrateful attitude causes depression, grief,
stress, disorientation, disillusion, desperation,
dissatisfaction.
unappreciative people - people who do not have
an attitude of gratitude - are never satisfied.
People who live with an ungrateful attitude are
always waiting for something bigger and better
before they’ll be thankful.

49. Ungrateful attitude erases joy

50. Proverbs 15:15
15 All the days of the oppressed are wretched,
but the cheerful heart has a continual feast.
NIV