Thank You | Ps. Keith Pittman

Welcome to the Celebration Church Orlando podcast.

Thank you so much for listening today.

We hope it encourages you and inspires you.

Here's today's message.

I was thinking just a moment ago as we were worshiping and singing this song together.

I came across this passage of scripture that that really, really reminds me of.

It's in Philippians chapter 2.

Philippians 2 · chapter mention

And starting at verse number 8, it says this concerning Jesus.

It says that he humbled himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even the death on the cross.

For this reason, God highly exalted him and gave him a name that is above every name.

So at the name of Jesus, every knee shall bow on heaven and on earth, and every tongue shall confess that Jesus Christ is Lord for the glory of the Father.

You know, when I when I think about passages like this and I think about the power and influence that's connected to a name, it really reminds me of this moment a few months ago when Meg and I had an opportunity to go to this restaurant.

We we didn't have um any reservation.

So someone that we knew that was in management said, like, hey, just tell them, just tell them that I sent you there.

So naturally, when we show up, they say they don't have any availability, but but the individual that told me that they didn't know who I knew.

So the moment that I said, no, like the manager sent me, the reaction began to shift and the people began to make preparations because the moment that I showed up in my own strength, I didn't have access.

But the moment that I began to put the name forward of the person that was ownership of the entire establishment, then I found that they began to create space for us.

What I what I want you to understand that there's some environments that God is calling us to go to, but we're showing up in our own strength.

We're showing up with our own ability, we're showing up with our own authority.

But this is why it says that I've given Jesus the name that is above every name.

I've given you, Jesus, the name that is above every note.

I've given you the name of Jesus that's above the diagnosis, and if we can be a people that understands that when we show up, we're not showing up in our own strength, but we're showing up in the name that is above every other name.

Lord, I thank you, God, that you've given us a name that is above every other name.

God, I'm grateful for the environments that you're leading us into, that we don't have to show up in our own strength and proclaiming our name.

But it's the name of Jesus that every knee shall bow and that every tongue shall confess that you are Lord, that you have authority, that everything begins and ends with you.

So, Father, I pray that you speak to us today, and it's in Jesus' name that we pray.

Amen.

Amen and amen.

Let's put our hands together and you can go ahead and take your seats.

We are so, so glad to be worshiping with um you today.

I I realize that today is a is a very special day because for many of us, this is uh we're just coming out of a an incredible time of Thanksgiving, spending some time with some family, hopefully eating some good food and and feeling a little bit stuffed and guilty, but it's okay because God's grace is for you even in the midst of gluttony.

I believe that in Jesus' name.

But but what I understand is that it's also in moments like this that our that our eyes are open to kind of summarizing what this year has been.

We're officially entering into the holiday season, if you will, and and this is a moment of reflection, and this is a moment of observation, this is a moment where we we celebrate the New Year's resolutions that we've actually followed through on.

These are moments that we rethink the things that we didn't see that worked out the way that we thought they were.

I'm confident that I'm not the only person that honestly thought that, man, we got through 2020, man, that's the end of our problems for the rest of the decade.

And then 2021 showed up.

And oddly enough, the challenges continue to be there.

So what I realized is that in moments like this, when we're entering into a holiday season and we begin to reflect, it's it's oftentimes that we begin to think about the pain that we've experienced, the setbacks that we've experienced, the the lack of promises that we that we experienced.

And now it's in a moment where we're almost afraid to even dream for the future.

I I'm confident I'm not the only one where you've you've had all the goals and dreams and visions and you've thought that everything was gonna work out, and now you get to these moments, these holiday moments that are supposed to be filled with cheer and celebration that you're beginning to think.

Because for some of us, this could be the first holiday that you're experiencing away from that loved one.

For for some of us, this could be that that that first holiday that you're celebrating where where that loved one that you thought was gonna be with you for the rest of your life, they aren't there.

Divorce, loss of life, these moments that are celebratory moments for others, but also moments of grief for so many others.

And so it's in these moments that we can lose perspective of the goodness of God.

Because I feel like my assignment here today is to remind us that no matter what we're walking through, that no matter what we have experienced, that God is good, that he's good.

Through it all, he is good.

He is so so good to us, and I'm hopeful that our time today will reveal just how good he is to us.

If you have your Bibles, I want to invite you to join me in the Gospel of Luke, chapter 17.

Luke 17 · chapter mention

Luke chapter 17, and and over the past couple of uh weeks and and over the past month in our church, this theme has been coming up about this idea of of worship and surrendering to God, and I think it's very fitting for us to expound on this thought just a little bit more.

Luke 17 · chapter mention

Starting here at verse number 11, there's a passage that's that's fairly familiar, and we've even referenced it a couple of times here at celebration.

But starting at verse number 11, the the word of God says is that as Jesus continued on toward Jerusalem, he reached the border between Galilee and Samaria.

As he entered the village there, ten men with leprosy stood at a distance, crying out, Jesus, Master, have mercy on us.

He looked at them and said, Go show yourselves to the priests.

And as they went, they were cleansed of their leprosy.

One of them, when he saw that he was healed, came back to Jesus shouting, Praise God! He fell to the ground at Jesus' feet, thanking him for what he had done.

This man was a Samaritan.

Jesus asked, Didn't I heal ten men?

Where are the other nine?

Has no one else returned to give glory to God except this foreigner?

And Jesus said to the man, Stand up and go.

Your faith has healed you.

Stand up and go, your faith has healed you.

There are so many things that I want to share with you in this passage that I think can give us some perspective and also unlock some things in our lives that I believe will bring us to a place of ultimate freedom.

If you're taking notes, I want you to write this message title down because I think it's something that you can come back to later.

And I simply don't want you to write it.

Thank you.

The power of just saying thank you.

Let's pray and see what it is the Holy Spirit wants to speak to us today.

God, we're we're so thankful.

Um, we're thankful for an opportunity to be in your presence because your word declares that where two or three are gathered in your name, that you're in the midst of us.

So even if we're sitting at home with our family members, whether we're listening to the podcast in our car, wherever we may find ourselves engaging your word, God, we know that you're with us.

So we know that when you're there, God, that you don't waste your presence, that you're gonna speak.

So, Father, I ask that you speak to us.

Holy Spirit, I pray that you encourage us, challenge us, confront us, lead us into an environment that's gonna compel us to be conformed into the image of the Son.

So, Father, I pray for open eyes that we can see you.

I pray for open ears that we can hear you, and I pray for open hearts that we can receive everything that you have for us.

It's in Jesus' name that we pray.

Amen and amen.

You know, I think it's very fitting for us to talk about this idea of thankfulness and and gratitude, specifically in the the time and season and the culture that we find ourselves in uh nowadays.

I'm I am a person that I have learned that as I'm getting older, that I am absolutely a words of affirmation guy.

I I like to give them and I also like to receive them.

I love to give words of affirmation because I I want to make sure that no matter what individuals may do in my life for me, my interactions with them, I want to make sure they don't ever feel like they're being taken for granted.

Because we all know that feeling of the moment when we're very excited when we receive something and we say thank you, but then after we receive it again and we receive it again, we receive it again, the the thank yous become a lot more smaller.

They we begin to share them a lot less.

And it's interesting how that can sink into our spirits so so quickly.

But I am a words of affirmation person, not in a meaningless, empty, complimentary way, but I want to make sure that anyone and everyone feels valued.

I truly believe every single Sunday, when people gather and be a part of Celebration Orlando, when I say thank you, I mean it from the depths of my soul.

Thank you so much for creating this space to be a part of our family and to and to worship God with us.

I believe that we're all better together.

So when we say it, it's coming from the core of our very beings.

I really do mean it because I never want anyone to be taken for granted.

Because we know that feeling of when someone doesn't appreciate us.

Let me give you uh a couple of scenarios.

Your your your hands are full, your your your palms are sweaty.

Somebody caught that.

Um you're on your way, but as you're walking, you look in your periphery and you see someone walking behind you.

So you you have a decision to make.

Am I going to hold the door for this individual or not?

Because I don't know what the appropriate distance is when you say, hey, you're far enough away that you're on your own, versus I'm gonna just go ahead and hold the door open for you because if it shuts in their face, then I probably should have held it open.

So I'm always a guy that leans on the side, I'm just gonna hold it open.

I'm just gonna be that guy that's gonna hold it open.

And so we all know that feeling of when you stand there and you hold the door open with your chest out, smiling as everybody keeps walking out and everybody keeps walking out, and then you're waiting for the last person in the group.

Occasionally you'll get a couple of folks that are in the group, hey, thank you, thank you, thank you.

But you're waiting for that last person, and their thank you is supposed to represent the whole.

So when I'm waiting, when I'm waiting for an entire family, an entire people group to go by, you may get the smile, you may get the nod, but by the time I get to the last person, they better look me in my eye and say thank you from the depths of their being.

And there's nothing worse than when you feel like you've done that good act, you've done that good thing.

I'm not doing it for the thank you, but I'm not not doing it for the thank you.

When I finish with that and I look you in the eye and you don't even acknowledge me standing there and holding the door open.

I'm not the only one that wish I could rewind time and shut the door in their face.

Maybe it's just me.

Y'all pray for y'all pray for your pastor.

I I know that feeling.

I know that feeling of just wanting to make sure that what you've done is not gonna be overlooked or taken lightly.

Here's one of my other pet peeves.

Like if if if we're if we're on the highway and you need to get over, and I I I have the ability to make this very uncomfortable for you, I am always a guy that's gonna slow back.

I will say 80% of the time.

Here's here's my here's my way that I determine what merge rules look like for me.

I'm riding, and if I see that the car that is aggressively trying to merge has dents and scratches in it, I'm gonna slow back because they got nothing to lose.

They got zero to lose.

They just gonna do what they want to do anyway.

So so I've I've learned that valuable lesson.

But for the most part, I'm gonna slow back.

I'm gonna go ahead and let you get in.

Yes, you knew that your exit was coming up.

Yes, you knew that you were in the wrong lane.

Yes, you knew that eight years ago that you shouldn't be in that lane.

But you know what?

I'm gonna always be the person that's gonna slow back and give you room to get over.

The least you can do, the least you can do.

Just give the courtesy wave.

Come on, guys, I'm not asking for much.

I'm not asking you to buy me lunch, I'm not asking for just a cutter, just a courtesy wave.

So when I don't get that, I'm like, man, I feel like running them off the road right now.

But I don't want to do that because I got celebration bumper stickers on and I don't want anybody to think that it's a bad representation.

But we know that feeling because all we're feeling is I feel like I'm now being taken for granted, that my kindness is now being misconstrued.

It's so it's that moment where I'm doing something out of generosity and I don't feel like it's being appreciated.

It's the lack of gratitude.

And we know these moments when we express things and we want gratitude, but how often is it when we forget to show consistent gratitude?

Let's let's think about it for a moment.

The things that we sometimes pray about, the things that we sometimes labor for, the things that we're inviting God to move in, then becomes the things that we complain about and we stop being thankful.

We prayed about God allowing us to get into that home, to get into that neighborhood, allow our kid to get to that school, and now that I'm in that home, I'm complaining about the HOA.

Somebody's feeling my pain.

It was an answered prayer, but now that thing turned into a nightmare.

Dreams turned into nightmare.

Shout out to Meek Mill.

We understand, we understand that moment when you've prayed about something and then it's turned into something else, and now instead of expressing gratitude, we express frustration.

We know that feeling like, man, I want to get this car, I analyze the car, I study the car, this is the car that I'm gonna get.

And now that I get the car, my God, the gas prices are so high, and I don't celebrate the car anymore, I'm frustrated with the cost of maintaining the vehicle.

These are these are small things, but but those small things begin to add up because what happens when I've been praying about that spouse?

I've been praying about that relationship.

And now that I have that spouse, now that I have that relationship, let's just say that the the manual and what I'm experiencing are a little bit different.

Let's let's just say let's just say let's just say, let's just say that some things aren't lining up right now, and the thing that I used to praise God for is the thing that I'm now asking God why.

It's interesting how quickly our gratitude can turn into indifference, our gratitude can turn into frustration, our gratitude can turn into flat out disappointment.

The things that we used to be so thankful for now become the things of God, this is too much for me to bear.

See, we're not the only ones who have ever experienced moments like this.

But I believe that if we don't learn how to overcome it, we will have circumstantial gratitude.

I am I I have gratitude when things are working the way that I want them to work.

I have gratitude when things are lined up perfectly like me, but I gotta believe that the God that we serve deserves more gratitude than just how we feel on any given day.

Paul tells us this in 1 Thessalonians chapter 5.

1 Thessalonians 5 · chapter mention

He's telling the church there, be thankful in all circumstances, for this is God's will for you who belong to Christ Jesus.

I read this and I was like, I want to take this out of the Bible.

There's certain verses that you see that you're like, I don't feel like this one is applicable.

And then we try to get overly intellectual and be like, oh, that's not the cultural context.

We want to remove it because it doesn't feel good that when Paul is telling us to be thankful in all circumstances, all means all.

And that seems pretty logically impossible when you consider the circumstances that we sometimes find ourselves in.

But I want to make a quick distinction before I go any further.

He says, be thankful in all circumstances, not for all circumstances.

There's a difference between being thankful for what I am in versus being thankful for what I'm dealing with and what it's for.

He's saying, be thankful even if you're in the midst of chaos.

Let's let's dig a little bit deeper.

That word thankful, it is a powerful word.

It ultimately means to express gratitude or appreciation.

So Paul is saying, express gratitude and appreciation in every situation.

Not for every situation, but no matter what you're in, find something to be thankful for in it.

Find something that you can recognize the goodness of God in it.

That root word that is connected to the word thankful, it is also connected to some other powerful words for us to remember.

It's connected to the words rejoice.

It's connected to the words be glad.

It's connected to the words grace and joy and gift.

The word thankful has rejoice, glad, grace, joy, and gift.

So when you take these definitions and put them together, what Paul is ultimately saying, in every circumstance, there is the gift of grace.

So we can have joy and rejoice and give thanks because we know that God is with us.

That means that no matter what I am facing, no matter what I am in, I can still be thankful because the gift of grace is with me while I'm in the midst of it.

And if I don't know if that's anything worth celebrating, I don't know what else is.

Because that means that no matter what I am facing, the presence of God is in it with me.

He says, be thankful in every situation.

We're thankful in it, not for it.

See, the Bible tells us that God doesn't give us anything that we cannot bear, but in every situation, he gives us space for an escape.

Let me say that again.

He doesn't give us anything that we cannot bear, that in every situation, he gives us an opportunity to escape.

Paul wrote those words as well because Paul had a very unique perspective on how he could still give thanks even when he's in a difficult situation.

The Bible tells us that he and Silas were in prison.

They were in prison.

He wasn't thankful to be in prison, but he was in prison and he was thankful that God was with him while he was in prison.

So the Bible says at midnight that he began to lift up praises to God while he was in prison.

He didn't allow the prison cell to strip him of his praise.

He didn't allow the prison cell to strip him of his thankfulness, that while he was in prison, he began to give thanks to God.

And the Bible says that the ground began to shake and the very chains that were on him began to fall off.

What if I were to tell you that the situation that you're in, the way that you get out, is just by giving God some thanks?

What if I were to tell you that the circumstance that you're struggling with, that all you need to do is give God some praise, and that would be the thing that leads you to a point of breakthrough?

The adversary loves to get us to be silent when we're uncomfortable because he knows the moment that I can praise God that the walls are going to come down, the moment I can praise God that I'm gonna see deliverance, the moment I can praise God, I'm gonna see victory.

We know that the Bible says that he inhabits the praises of his people.

How many scriptures have we read where it talks about how the people of God lifted up their voices and the walls came down?

That the people of God lifted up their voices and it rendered the enemy into confusion.

What if I were to tell you that the chaos that you're dealing with, that the way that you get your breakthrough is by giving God some praise?

If you say, God, I thank you.

I'm not thankful for it, but I'm thankful in it because I know that you are with me.

Let's give God some praise right now.

Let's give 10 seconds of praise right now.

God, you are good.

We are so thankful that you have been with us, that you have sustained us.

If you if you've been following us for any period of time, I've shared with you guys that that my family and I, where we're still recovering and grieving from the loss of a loved one that was completely unexpected, such a young, precious life.

I am absolutely not thankful for what happened, but I am thankful that God is still with us.

I am thankful that there's more than 10 people that have given their life to Christ through it.

I am thankful that God is not done just yet.

I am not thankful for what happened, but I'm thankful that God is with us and He is not done.

I believe that there's some of us that are grieving right now, and if we can shift our focus and God, I know you're gonna use it.

God, I know you're gonna get glory, and I'm thankful that not only are we gonna see you move in it, but I'm gonna be a witness to it.

We are thankful for what we get a chance to see God do.

It's a powerful thing when we are able to recognize the mighty hand of God at work in our lives.

I really believe that gratitude is an attitude.

It's an attitude.

It's not meant to be circumstantial, it's it's it's not meant to be determined on what's happening in my life.

I'm only grateful when I've everything is lined up.

I believe it has to be an attitude that transcends circumstances.

I want you to write this down.

Thankfulness flows from what's in your heart, not what's in your hand.

It flows from what's in your heart, not what's in your hand, because what's in your hand can come and go.

What's in your hand can can be here today and go on tomorrow, but when it's in my heart, I can find a way to be thankful no matter what.

The Bible encourages us to keep a healthy perspective of the goodness of God no matter what.

Philippians 4 says, Rejoice in the Lord always.

I will say it again, rejoice.

Psalms 34, 1 says, I will bless the Lord at all times, and his praise shall continually be in my mouth.

What we're seeing is that this idea of blessing God, giving God praise, it's the same definition of being thankful.

It's the gratitude that we express.

So what the writers are helping us to understand that no matter what I'm facing, I will bless the name of the Lord.

No matter what my circumstance is, I will bless God.

No matter what my struggle is, I'm gonna give God praise.

It's making sure that I don't allow circumstances to dictate my praise because I realize that my praise is the thing that ushers me into freedom.

The enemy loves for us to get things out of order, but I'm gonna praise God regardless.

In fact, I look at it as a challenge whenever the enemy comes my way.

I say, You will not steal my praise, you will not steal my honor to God, you will not steal my worship to the Lord.

So no matter what I face, I'm challenging every one of us to give God praise through it all.

If we could be the people that recognizes that even when circumstances are uncomfortable, to give God praise.

I believe this idea fits brilliantly with the text that we're looking at today.

Because I believe that there's some things that God is showing us in this to make sure that we have the attitude of gratitude as opposed to just being disappointed when things don't work out our way.

Way.

Let me let me show you what's happening here.

The Bible says that Jesus is on his way to Jerusalem and he'd be passing through an environment.

And it says as he's passing through, he sees these ten men who all have leprosy, a highly contagious skin disease that require people to live in isolation.

They're literally in the middle of nowhere, removed from society, just stuck there, and either to wait for them to either be healed or to deal as pariahs until their life ends.

And what the Bible says is that when they see Jesus, they see him from the distance.

Let's spend a couple of seconds there.

That these men are dealing with brokenness and isolation, and they're standing at a distance from Jesus.

Jesus represents hope.

Jesus represents peace.

Jesus represents salvation.

Jesus represents healing.

So they're standing from a distance from hope.

What do you do when hope is off in the distance?

What do you do when peace seems to be so far away?

What do you do when joy seems to be so far away?

What do you do when freedom seems to be so far away and it's off in the distance?

The Bible said that these men saw Jesus, everything that he represents, and he was off in the distance.

They were familiar with who Jesus was.

At this point, the name of Jesus and the person of Jesus was very popular around town.

So they knew that there was this faith healer, that everywhere he went, he brought healing and reconciliation and restoration to people.

This is why when they saw him from the distance, instead of them yelling out unclean, which was what the law says, they said, Lord Jesus, have mercy on us.

They knew that he was capable of fixing their situation.

So even though they were in the distance, they lifted up their voice to close the gap.

Oh my goodness.

I wish somebody was getting a hold of this right now.

That even though peace was in the distance, they lifted up their voice to close the gap.

That even though the breakthrough was in the distance, they lifted up their voice to close the gap.

That even though the reconciliation was in the distance, they lifted up their voice to close the gap.

Again, we're seeing this theme of even though they were in the distance, they still dug deep inside of themselves and said, I'm going to lift up the name of Jesus because I know that it's at his name that every knee shall bow.

It's at his name that every tongue shall confess.

It's at his name is the only way that I'm going to truly experience the life that God has for me.

That even though they were in the distance, they allowed their praise to close the gap.

Scripture tells us that after they lift up the name of Jesus, that Jesus looks at them and he says, Go and show yourselves to the priest.

Once again, the cultural context is at that time that when you were considered unclean, that you would have to go to a priest, he would inspect you and then determine if you were fit to rejoin society.

As they began to take this journey, scripture tells us that as they were walking, they were cleansed.

Now this was a this was a bold move for them because they were removed from society.

There was an expectation that they would not come back until they were whole, but but they hear a word from Jesus and he says, Go and show yourselves.

And so as they were walking it out, they were cleansed.

It didn't happen when Jesus said it.

They had to begin to walk it out and with every step say to themselves, Man, we're getting closer and closer to this village.

We're getting closer and closer.

And if we walk in here and we still got these spots on us, man, they may stone us to death.

But as they walked it out, the Bible says that then they were cleansed.

See, the Bible says that faith without works is dead.

That there are some things that God will speak to us that we're going to have to walk it out if we want to see it experienced in our lives.

It's a matter of understanding that God responds to our motions.

I remember when my daughter was young and I was teaching her about the power of motion sensors.

I was telling her about this, and so I remember as she was, she was fascinated when we would go into the grocery store and how the doors would just open up to her.

And then when she would go home and she would be surprised that when she stands in front of the doors, the doors didn't open up to her.

So I said, hey, look, I said, the reason why these doors are opening is because there's motion sensors.

It's detecting your presence.

And when you step up, things begin to open up.

It makes me think about the power of motion sensors because you know that there's times when you go into some bathrooms that the water is there, but it's not until you put your hand under it.

It detects your motion and then the water begins to come down.

We even see sometimes when we go into some rooms that are dark, we are looking for the light switch, but the moment that I begin to walk around, it detects my movements and the lights come on.

See, I think many of us are standing on the outside waiting for lights to come on.

Many of us are standing on the outside and waiting for the cleansing power to take place.

But if we only understood that some things, God will respond to us putting it into motion.

The moment that I put it into motion, then I will see the doors open.

When I put it into motion, then I will see the cleansing power of Jesus takes place.

That while they were going, the doors began to open.

The scripture says that they were cleansed.

This is where it gets good because as they receive this healing power, the nine of them keep moving forward, but there's this one.

It says that when he realized that he was cleansed, something compelled him to go back and surrender to Jesus.

This brings us to the crux of our entire time today.

Because I think a lot of times when we read these passages, we look at the nine verses, the one.

But what I actually believe is that the nine and one are a representation of us.

That part of us that wants to go our own way, and then that other side of us that feels compelled to go back to Jesus.

Paul tells us in Romans chapter 7 and in Galatians 6 about the dual nature that every single one of us has.

Romans 7 · chapter mention

The nature of the flesh and the nature of the spirit, and this tug of war that always takes place.

It's that thing that Paul talks about when I want to do good, evil is yet with me.

What is wrong with me that the things that I want to do or the things that I don't do?

Paul is not schizophrenic, he's talking about the battle that's taking place with our spirit and our flesh.

And I believe that every single one of us has this tension that we have to wrestle with.

This tension of being surrendered to God versus resisting his will.

And when we look at this particular passage, I believe we see the collision of what happens when one surrenders and the other ones resist.

I often find myself wondering, what was it about the nine that made them say, nah, I'm not gonna go back?

What was it about the nine that made them say, nah, I'm good?

I think there's a couple of things that are are meant to be cautionary tales for every single one of us.

Because what the scriptures say is that these men were Jewish.

There was one man who was a Samaritan.

Let me give us a little bit of background into what that meant.

That meant that for the Jewish men, they understood the idea of the Messiah.

They understood the concept that when the scriptures say that salvation is of the Jews.

In fact, in tide of their entire lineage, they had this awareness and understanding that for their people group, no matter what happened, that God fought for them.

So I would say for them, they knew the promises of God were for them.

They knew that God would fight on their behalf, they knew that things would move and work together for the good.

So I would venture to say that for these Jewish men, they felt a little entitled.

This is what's supposed to happen for us.

Things are going to work out on our behalf.

And I think that what can happen with us sometimes, if we really were to analyze it, that the reason why we resist submission sometimes is because we feel like things are working out the way that they're supposed to work out.

I'm entitled to this.

The promises of God are very clear.

They appear to be coming my way, and so it's only right that I'm the recipient of the favor and blessing of God.

But on the other side of the coin, we have this other man that he was an outsider.

Jesus defined him as a foreigner.

And he didn't have the revelation that things were just gonna work out for him.

He didn't have the revelation that the Messiah was gonna come and set everything straight.

He didn't have the revelation that Jesus was God incarnate.

He was a Samaritan, a person that was away from the things of God, was considered an outcast.

So he didn't yield to entitlement, he yielded to just being expectant.

There's a difference between being expectant and being entitled.

Being expectant means that I'm in a posture, in a position to receive what God has for me.

I'm grateful and I have a part to play in it.

Being entitled means I deserve it.

Being entitled means that I don't need to show gratitude.

Have you ever seen how sometimes in our family groups that there's moments where you're so thankful for things?

We we deal with this all the time as parents, Megan and I.

Those things that you obviously are going to do your best to give to your children every single thing that you can.

But but what happens when them being expectant and knowing that mom and dad care for me and they love me versus when they just feel entitled?

That that lack and absence of gratitude that begins to shape the way that these things move forward.

This man came back and he showed surrender.

So Jesus looks at him and says, Man, like where's where's the rest?

Didn't I didn't I heal 10 of you?

And only one of you decided to come back.

Only one of you decided to show gratitude.

There's something unique about what God is doing in your heart versus these other men.

I believe the other thing that we have to be mindful of with not living in a place where we feel entitled and we and we don't surrender, I think it's also understanding this tension of ensuring that we don't find ourselves at a place where when we're finding ourselves in the presence of God, that when we're submitted to him, that when we are the recipients of what he's doing in our lives, that we don't put him on a lower scale of priority.

Because here's what we have to understand for these men, the nine.

They they understood Jewish law.

So now that they were going back into community, they were preparing themselves to be back with their families.

They were preparing themselves to finally get back to work, which also included being able to go back to the synagogue and go back to the temple.

So in their minds, they may have been thinking, I'll give God praise on Saturday.

Because now that I'm back in community, I can I can once again be integrated back with my family, and when we go to temple, when we go to the synagogue, I'm gonna give God praise then.

They've decided to delay their gratitude.

How often do we not prioritize God the way that we should?

You see, I every time I I go on a trip, you know, we we have these moments, and I love to take flights early in the morning.

I love to take flights early in the morning, I like to get out the way before flights get delayed and mess up your whole plans for the day.

So I like to take early flights for the most part.

And so here's the thing that I find interesting.

When I know that I have a flight early in the morning, when the alarm goes off, I jump up, I get up, I do what I gotta do, and I'm there on time.

I get to where I need to be on time.

It's crazy to me that I have the ability and the discipline to do that then, but I have my alarm set to go to the gym every single morning, and when that thing goes off, snooze, snooze, snooze, I'll do it tomorrow.

It's interesting how you can do it when you quote unquote have to, but when you don't have to, you can just continue to snooze on it.

The very thing that's going to make me healthy, the very thing that's going to make me strong, the very thing that's going to give me the results that I want are the things that I hit the snooze button on.

And it makes me wonder if there are times that we're hitting the snooze button on God.

That the that the very person that is able to reshape our destiny, the one who is waiting to meet with us, the one who wants us to prioritize him the most, is also the one that we can allow ourselves to get into a place of not prioritizing him.

What this other man did is that even though his eyes began to open up, even though he was healed and he can get back to living a full life, there was something inside of him that said, But I'm going to prioritize Jesus right now.

I don't want to put it off.

I don't want to wait until next week.

I don't want to wait until I find myself in a church environment.

I am going to return to Jesus and give him praise right now.

I believe the tension that many of us have when it comes to making sure that we live lives of gratitude is ensuring that we have to prioritize Jesus above all else.

Don't put it off.

Don't snooze.

Make sure that we prioritize Jesus.

And the way that we do that is by creating healthy rhythms of spending time with him no matter what.

Spending time in his word, spending time in worship.

That means that when we do come into a church environment, that we're so fired up from engaging the presence of God during the course of the week that revival takes place in the church instead of it being a medical facility where we're just trying to give people hope.

No, the people are supposed to come in so fired up that the moment that people walk into this place, that chains are broken.

That the moment that people walk into this place, that freedom is experienced.

But we gotta prioritize Jesus on our own.

And then the third and final thing that I want to share with us, I'm gonna invite the worship team to come back and join us as we go into one more song to kind of close out our time together.

Is that this man took a very unique posture when he came into the presence of Jesus?

He he didn't he didn't just casually say, Hey Jesus, man, good looking out.

I appreciate that.

What the Bible says is that he fell at his feet and lifted up his voice and praised God and gave him thanks.

His posture was one of surrender and thankfulness.

You know, if I can be honest with you, like those are the those are the moments where I'm like, man, that must have been a crazy scene.

That this guy is walking with his friends, he's cleansed, he goes back, and he begins to yell at the top of his voice, thank you, Jesus! His friends are probably like, man, I'm like, calm down, bro.

Relax.

And I and I get it, because for me, I am a passionate person, but I'm also fairly chill.

I get fired about things, but I'm also not a person that I would describe as being overly demonstrative, so to speak.

So for me, I'm fairly chill.

So my personality, my preference is like there's a there's a safe engagement zone that's connected to my personality.

Like I'll I'll I'll celebrate, I'll cheer, but but for the most part, I like to try to keep it.

My my worship style is pretty much like this.

I'm that guy.

I'm I'm in I'm in the mid zone for the most part.

I'm in the mid zone.

And and I remember many years ago, I was in the middle of a worship service, and God had done an amazing thing in our family.

And as I'm standing in in service and and I'm experiencing the presence of God, I begin to feel like these emotions well up on the inside of me.

And I'm like, Keith, you gotta hold it together.

Like you're your pastor, people are looking at you.

You gotta keep it strong, you gotta keep it focused, like you gotta be stoic, you gotta be, you gotta put on a strong face.

So I am I am literally trying to suppress what God is doing on my heart.

I'm trying to suppress the joy that I'm feeling.

I'm trying to suppress because I'm thinking through the lens of my personality, is one that I'm typically more chill.

I'm not an over-the-top yelling, jumping up and down type of guy.

I need to, I need to suppress it.

So, so Lord, just help me.

I will worship you when I get home, and I'll never forget.

The Holy Spirit literally collared me up, and he said, Jesus didn't die publicly for you to worship him privately.

When he died on the cross, that wasn't a secret.

And I believe what has happened in our culture, we've gotten into this place where we think that our relationship with God is a secret.

No, your relationship with God is personal, but it's certainly not secret, and what he wants to see from us, from his people, is that we are people that know how to show gratitude in the most over-the-top way possible.

From that moment, God began to show me what heaven is going to be like.

He began to bring me the passages of scripture where it talks about how there are angels that are literally in the presence of God and they have never stopped saying, Holy, holy, holy is the Lord God Almighty.

God is saying, if you can't figure it out here, you're gonna be very uncomfortable up there because when you get into the presence of God, and it's not because they have to, it's because they get to.

And we have an opportunity to worship God from the core of our being, not because we have to, but because we get to, because he is good, because he is righteous, because he is holy.

The Bible even talks about how David, when he returned the presence of God back into Jerusalem, the Bible said that he began to dance with all of his might, literally until his clothes fell off.

David was a king, so people were looking at him and saying, That is undignified.

But he said, I am going to give God praise no matter what anybody else says.

I'm gonna give God praise no matter what culture tries to dictate, I'm gonna give God praise regardless of what other people may think.

He says, I am not gonna hold back my praise unto God, and I want to tell every single one of you if your personality puts your lid on expressing the love of God, then you have to yield it and put it at his feet.

That the presence of God should never, never have to be lided off by your preference and your personality.

What this man showed us is that he was able to come back to Jesus and literally forego his personality, forego his preferences and recognize what God had done in his life.

I think what gratitude looks like for every single one of us is stripping ourselves of our preference and understanding the importance of our posture, getting to a place where we're fully surrendered to him.

Jesus looks at this man and says, Get up, go your way.

Your faith has healed you.

Now I want to make a quick distinction here because what he said earlier is as they were going, they were cleansed.

But when he's talking to this man, he said, Your faith has healed you, or your faith has made you whole.

There's a difference between the two.

What cleanse meant is that they now had to go to the priest, they had to be validated by the priest, and then they would have permission to move forward with their lives, and they could become unclean again.

Jesus used the word that your faith has saved you, that your faith has restored you, that your faith has covered you.

You can go your way.

Those men still had to go and show themselves to the priest.

This man was able to go his way because he didn't need validation from man anymore because he heard directly from God.

What if our ability to show gratitude actually allows us to come into alignment with God in such a way that we stop looking for validation from people because we're getting everything we need from Jesus?

I am a firm believer that we have given far too many people ink pens in our lives, waiting for them to write destiny.

No one has that ability except for Jesus.

Man can come alongside and be a highlighter, but only Jesus can write it in ink.

We look for people that can highlight what God is doing, but I'm not looking for man to write my destiny.

And what thankfulness allows us to do is align ourselves in such a way that we can allow what God wants to write on our hearts to be verified in His presence.

I believe that when we have an attitude of gratitude that allows us to get freed up from looking for man to validate us, I'm not looking for man to do it anymore.

What I want to do is I want to go into a time of worship, a time of reflection and of thankfulness, because again, I know that for some of us we're we're reflecting on some of the struggles and some of the disappointments.

But I'm a firm believer that thankfulness flows from what's in our heart, not what's in our hand.

And that our thankfulness could very well be the thing that shows God that He can trust it by putting it into our hands.

Let's let's stand in your homes.

Let's stand all together as a family, and let's go into a time of worship with the perspective is no matter what I am in, God is good.

Thanks again for listening.

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