Again, a greeting in Jesus' name. Certainly, it has been good to be here already this morning. My heart has been encouraged by the songs that we sang and what we heard in Sunday school and also the devotional. I, too, want to express my thanks for the box that we received. It was a blessing. It is a blessing. It's encouraging to be a part of a congregation who has a heart for others. Thank you for your prayers, your support. Thank you for your love offerings that you hold for the ministry every so often. We appreciate that. Title to the message this morning is A Grateful Heart. We already heard some of being grateful. You know, Thanksgiving Day is upon us again. It's hard to believe that it's a year already since the last Thanksgiving Day. What is Thanksgiving to us? Is it a big tasty meal of turkey and mashed potatoes and dressing and pumpkin pie and you name it? We get together with family and friends. We have a good time. most times eat more than we should. Certainly, there's nothing wrong with that, with coming together and fellowshipping and being encouraged one of another. But I think it should be done in moderation. And we should acknowledge where these things come from, the many blessings that we enjoy in our land, day to day, week after week, year after year. But today, Thanksgiving for the Christian comes more than once a year. It is a part of our life. It is an attitude that is a must for the Christian. Thanksgiving is the aspect of praise that gives thanks to God for what He does for us. Like I said, it's a requirement for the believer. In 1 Thessalonians 5, 18, it says, in everything gives thanks for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus concerning you. I don't think there is such a thing as an unthankful Christian. Yes, we probably, we might have people around us professing to be Christians, and we know that they are unthankful, so I question their spirituality. Thanksgiving will flow from the grateful heart of a true born-again believer, regardless of the circumstances that we find ourselves in. In other words, possessions, money, wealth, vehicles, homes, you name it, will not make a heart full of thanksgiving. We should be grateful to God for all things, like Marvin Joel shared this morning, even the hard times of life, for it seems like through those times is when we grow spiritually. And so we have reason to thank God Even when times are rough. And I think a born again believer is especially thankful for salvation, for redemption, for the shed blood on Calvary's cross and for the ongoing work of sanctification in our life. Praising God for who he is is called adoration or worship. Praising God for what he has done and for what he does is known as thanksgiving. Unthankfulness is one of the first steps that leads us away from God. Romans 121, because that when they knew God, they glorified him not as God, neither were thankful, but became vain in their imaginations and their foolish heart was darkened. Ten men were together outside a village. They had something in common. They were condemned as unclean. They were separated from family and friends. Their clothes were torn. Their head was shaved bare. And if someone came too close, they were to cover their upper lip and cry out, unclean, unclean. so that no one would come too close. Can you imagine the rejection they felt? These men had leprosy. One day Jesus passed that way, and they saw him afar off. They cried out, Jesus, Master, have mercy on us. They were in a desperate situation and they were seeking deliverance. Jesus said, go show yourselves to the priests. He didn't say, be healed. He wanted an act of obedience on their part. They responded in faith and went. Jesus healed them on the way. Only one, 10% of these 10 men returned to give thanks for his healing. Only one had a grateful heart. Says he glorified God with a loud voice. He fell at Jesus' feet giving thanks or worshiping Jesus for what he had done for him. Jesus asked a question, were there not ten cleansed? Where are the other nine? Jesus responded to the one, arise, go thy way, thy faith has made thee whole. You know, I think the other nine were healed physically, as well as this one. But I think the One was made whole, both physically and spiritually. He found Jesus Christ that day. This morning, we were all at that point sometime in our life. We were all like these ten men. We've all been in trouble. We've all been outside the village, outside the fold, outside the camp, unclean, unclean. We were all lost in sin, for all have sinned and come short of the glory of God. Romans 3.23. These ten men faced death. There was no known cure for leprosy. We too, in the same way, deserve nothing but death, for the wages of sin is death. Romans 6.23. One day they met Jesus. They became aware of the situation they were in, and they had their eyes on someone who they knew could help them out of that situation. They with a unanimous voice cried for mercy. They didn't cry for healing. They cried for mercy. They wanted help. Jesus met their need right where they were at. These 10 men were in a group. They had leprosy. Jesus met them right there outside the village. Most of us here this morning met Jesus at some point in our life. We saw our need, our condition, our sinfulness, our unworthiness, our undoneness. And we cried out for mercy. We cried out for cleansing. We were desperate. We were in a situation we didn't know how to get out of. We couldn't get out of it on our own. We were seeking deliverance. God and His love met us in our sins right where we were at. just like these 10 men. John 3, 16, for God so loved the world that he gave his only begotten son that whosoever believeth in him should not perish but have everlasting life. Jesus Christ died to pay for our sins. Romans 5, 8, but God commendeth his love toward us in that while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us. He met us. right where we were at. These ten men stepped out in faith when they were told to go see the priests. They weren't healed when they started out. They could have thought, well, we want to be healed right away. But they stepped out. I think they believed that if they obeyed Jesus Christ, something's going to happen. and they were cleansed. It's no different for us today. We have our part to do as well. God will meet us with mercy when we are found in the way of duty. God will meet us with mercy when we are found in the way of duty. God sees our heart. He sees our desires. He meets us there. When we open our heart and invite him in, when we let him be Lord and master of our life. It's when we repent, we confess our sins. First John 1 9 says if we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. We can receive cleansing as well spiritually, like these men received it physically. Salvation or cleansing becomes available by our faith. Our believing in him. It takes faith on our part. That if thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus and shalt believe in thine heart faith. That God hath raised him from the dead thou shall be saved for with the heart man believeth unto righteousness and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation. Romans 10 9 and 10. Now that we have been cleansed from sin, we have found Jesus Christ as our Lord and Master. Where do we find ourselves? In which group? Are we with the one or are we with the nine? Are we in the 10% or are we in the 90%? What kind of a life are we living? Nine of these men were ungrateful. They showed no appreciation for what was done to their life. The one came back, and with a loud voice, he glorified God. He praised God for the work done in his life. He fell at the feet of Jesus, giving thanks. You know, I had to ask myself the question, how well am I doing? In telling others, in glorifying God, telling others what he has done for me, do others even know? You know, if he said it with a loud voice, I'm assuming there was a group of people with Jesus at the time. Others were able to hear it. How well are we doing? Are others hearing about our Lord and master? He worshipped. He gave thanks from a grateful heart. Are we thankful for what Jesus has done for this soul of mine? On our own, we couldn't do it. We can't do it. Turn to Psalm 103. You know, sometimes we feel like there's nothing to be thankful for, and it's easy to complain and to murmur about things that happen in life. I want you to notice as we read the list of things that David lists that we can be thankful for. Psalm 103. Verse one, bless the Lord, oh, my soul and all that is within me, bless his holy name. Bless the Lord, O my soul, and forget not all his benefits, who forgiveth all thine iniquities, who healeth all thy diseases, who redeemeth thy life from destruction, who crowneth thee with loving kindness and tender mercies, who satisfieth thy mouth with good things, so that thy youth is renewed like the eagles. The Lord execute his righteousness and judgment for all that are oppressed. He made known His ways unto Moses, His acts unto the children of Israel. The Lord is merciful and gracious, slow to anger, and plenteous in mercy. He will not always chide, neither will He keep His anger forever. He hath not dealt with us after our sins, nor rewarded us according to our iniquities. For as the heaven is high above the earth, so great is His mercy toward them that fear Him. As far as the East is from the West, so far hath he removed our transgressions from us. Like as a father pitieth his children, so the Lord pitieth them that fear him. For he knoweth our frame, he remembereth that we are dust. As for man, his days are as grass, as a flower of the field, so he flourisheth. For the wind passeth over it, and it is gone, and the place thereof shall know it no more. But the mercy of the Lord is from everlasting to everlasting upon them that fear him and his righteousness unto children's children. To such as keep his covenant and to those that remember his commandments to do them, the Lord hath prepared his throne in the heavens and his kingdom ruleth over all. Bless the Lord, ye his angels that excel in strength, that do his commandments, hearkening unto the voice of his word. Bless ye the Lord, all ye his hosts, ye ministers of his, that do his pleasure. Bless the Lord, all his works, in all places of his dominion. Bless the Lord, O my soul. 104 verse 1. Bless the Lord, O my soul. O Lord my God, thou art very great. Thou art clothed with honor and majesty. 105 verse 1. O give thanks unto the Lord. Call upon his name. Make known his deeds among the people. 106 verse one, praise ye the Lord, O give thanks unto the Lord, for he is good, for his mercy endureth forever. 107 verse one, O give thanks unto the Lord, for he is good, for his mercy endureth forever. And we could go on and on and on in the book of Psalm. David was a man who loved to praise God for the blessings that he had. He was mindful of the things that God had given him. Did you see anything in this chapter that we can be grateful for? Any response? All right, about 25 things. That's more than I counted, so thank you for that. Can someone name a few of them? God's mercy. Very good. Forgiveness. This chapter is loaded. There's more in here than I can bring out in one morning. Talks about healing, redemption, loving kindness, tender mercies, providence, His righteousness, grace, and His patience, and there's more. Do we deserve any of these? These are things that are at our disposal. God wants to show his love, his mercy to us, and we don't deserve it. No matter how hard or difficult our journey is in life, there's always blessings we can count, either past, present, or future. Verse 1. Bless the Lord. The Strong's for bless says to kneel down, to pronounce blessing, to give praise, to give thanks, extol. The Amplified says affectionately, gratefully praise. The dictionary, if you look up the word grateful, it will tell you to be thankful. If you look up the word thankful, it says to be grateful. So the two are very similar. It is an attitude that is present in the Christian's life. What does it mean to be grateful? Grateful is the opposite of murmuring or complaining. I found a few quotes on gratefulness. One of them is it says, gratefulness is expressing sincere appreciation to God and to others for the ways that they have benefited my life. Another one is true gratefulness springs from an awareness of our total unworthiness and inadequacy before a holy and just God. You know, if we would get what we deserved, we would all be doomed for destruction. It is of the Lord's mercies that we are not consumed, Lamentation 322. When we recognize what God has done in providing for our redemption, it changes our focus. It changes the nature within us. All of a sudden, we don't dwell on the things we don't have or the things we want, the things we complain about that we don't have, and we start focusing on what we do have. We see how richly that God has blessed us in redeeming our soul, in rescuing us from the bondage of sin, changing our course of direction. We now have a new goal. And that produces in us a grateful attitude. A heart that seeks to bless God, to thank God, to live for him, for what he has done for us. And thereby, we start reaching out and we start blessing others. We're no longer trying to get things to ourselves. We're giving them out. I think our thanksgiving, our grateful heart should reflect our deliverance, what God has done for us. Another quote, gratefulness is receiving all things from the sovereign hand of God and finding the benefits in each one. A grateful person humbly recognizes that of himself he has nothing and that someone above him has showered him with a blessing and thereby is willing to give honor, worship, thanks, reverence to the one that gave it to him. Verse one and two, bless the Lord. It mentions bless the Lord twice, makes it personal, talks about, oh, my soul, all that is within me. Bless his holy name. Our soul, our immortal nature. All that is within me, our entire being, blesses God for his goodness. In verses 20 and 21, it says, bless the Lord, ye his angels. 22, bless the Lord, ye his hosts, ye ministers of his. Calling on the heavenly host to bless God. Verse 22, bless the Lord all his works. in all places of His dominion, calling on creation itself brings honor and glory to God. God alone is worthy to be praised, to be blessed, to be thanked by all of humanity, all of the heavenly hosts, and all of creation. Looking at a few things mentioned in the chapter to be grateful for, verse 3, who forgiveth all thine iniquities, who healeth all thy diseases. I think that's the greatest benefit, the greatest blessing that we receive from God is forgiveness. Who forgiveth, it doesn't say who forgave, so it's an ongoing process. He didn't do it once and then now we're on our own. If we fall, if we fail, if we fall into sin, God is there to help us again. He will again forgive us when we confess and forsake the sin that we fell into. There is no sin too big that he cannot forgive it. Talks about healing the deceased. One commentator indicated that he takes away the punishment for breaking the law. He takes away the punishment for breaking the law. Verse four, another thing we can be grateful for is redemption. Who redeemeth thy life from destruction? Who redeemeth thy life from destruction? He paid the price with his own blood to save us from destruction. He not only saves us from destruction, but he gives us something better in return. Praise God. He showers us with loving kindness and tender mercies. The joy of the Lord will be in our heart. We're a different person after being redeemed. Another one is found in verse five. He satisfies with good things who satisfied thy mouth with good things so that thy youth is renewed like the eagles. Good things we could name a whole list. Including the physical needs that we have. Our God is a loving God. He loves to shower his people with good things. He renews our strength like the Eagles. Regardless of our age, when we find joy and happiness in blessing the name of the Lord and counting all His benefits, He loves to renew our strength, no matter what our age is. When we start counting the blessings of life, no matter where we're at, It will bring courage, it will bring strength to our heart. And we can soar like the eagle above the struggles and the problems that look so big to us. He gives us strength to be overcomers. Verse eight, the Lord is merciful and gracious, slow to anger and plenteous in mercy. We see long-suffering. God is long-suffering. He's not willing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance. 2 Peter 3, 9. I know I can testify that God has been very patient with me. Too many times I drag my feet when He wants me to do something. He has to take me by the hand, and I take little steps. It seems like I can't take a big step of faith like I'm sometimes called to do. God is patient. He has led me by the hand, even in those tiny steps. And he will do the same for you. Verse 10 and 12. 10 through 12, pardon me. He hath not dealt with us after our sins, nor rewarded us according to our iniquities. For as the heaven is high above the earth, so great is his mercy toward them that fear him. As far as the east is from the west, so far has he removed our transgressions from us." We see his merciful pardon here in these verses. He doesn't give us what we deserve. When we confess and forsake our sins, He graciously removes them from us. So I think in reality, we should thank God for what He has not done for us. If He would deal with us according to our sins, I doubt any of us would be here this morning. We see the distance here described. How high is the heaven above the earth? How far is the east from the west? Our minds, we can't comprehend it. That's how far he removes the transgression from us. If we utterly forsake them, he will thoroughly forgive them and remove them. Verse 13, like as a father pitieth his children, so the Lord pitieth them that fear him. He is a father to those that love him, to those that serve him, to those that fear him. He comforts us when we are hurt. He gives us strength to overcome difficulties. He tenderly picks us up when we fall, just like we fathers when our children have a need. We love to meet that need. That's exactly what God is like. He has a heart of compassion for his people. Verse 17 and 18. But the mercy of the Lord is from everlasting to everlasting upon them that fear him and his righteousness unto children's children to such as keep his covenant and to those that remember his commandments to do them. We see here an eternal provision for our soul. God has provided for our soul not only here in life, but in the hereafter, throughout all eternity. The reward of being with him forever is to those who remember his commandments to do them, a life of obedience to the will of God. So what does a grateful person look like in everyday living? I suppose we've all been around ungrateful people as well as grateful people and there is a huge difference. A grateful person is one who realizes that he has received more blessings than he deserves. Grateful people appreciate what they have. Some of the most grateful people that I know have very little financially. Grateful people thank God for what they have instead of complaining about what they don't have. An ungrateful spirit is a rebuke. Or could we say slap in the face to the one who has done something or given them something? And it is also a complaint against God. Helen Keller says this, so much has been given to me. I have no time to ponder over that which has been denied. Gratefulness is defined by God as a sacrifice because it involves surrendering the natural tendency in us to murmur and complain. Psalm 116 verse 17 says, I will offer to thee the sacrifice of thanksgiving. A grateful person is one who is not self-centered. He is a cheerful giver. He tries to reach out and bless others. It might not be much, might be a word of encouragement, a phone call, a letter, a visit. As Jesus has given to him, so he gives to others. A grateful person is one who is not critical. He feels unworthy of the many blessings he receives. So he is very aware of his own needs. So why would he turn around and criticize others when he's aware of his own needs? A grateful person is not critical of others. A grateful person easily forgives others. However, I think a grateful person forgiving another doesn't focus on the fact that I have to forgive this person. But he realizes that he makes many failures And that God and others often have to forgive him. So his focus is not really on forgiving others, it's on being forgiven. And when he realizes how many times others are forgiving him, it's no problem to forgive others. What are some practical ways that we can thank others? Number one is by telling them so. When someone does something for us, how do we respond? I stood in the entrance this morning for just a few minutes, and a brother was holding the door, and I don't know how many came through there, and all of them said, thank you. How do we respond when someone lets us go first at the cash register? when someone comes and pays us a visit, when someone calls us and gives us a word of encouragement. There's many ways that others bless us. How do we respond? Another way that we can thank others is public recognition. The one leper came back and with a loud voice glorified God. Others heard it. Others heard who he was thanking and why he was thanking him. Another way is by giving them a gift. We can say thank you. I think the gift should be appropriate and have some value to the receiver. But I think most of all the thought behind that gift is what counts the most. We're showing that person that we care. Another way is by spending time with them. It shows that we appreciate them and we value their input into our life. So this morning, the question is, how grateful am I? How grateful are we? Do we begin each morning by thanking God for a new day? Thanking God for giving us life and health? Thanking God for salvation through Jesus Christ? Do we thank Him for the little things? That we have food to eat, we have clothes to wear, we have a roof over our head. If God would give us today what we thanked Him for yesterday, how much would we have? If God would give us today what we thanked Him for yesterday, how much would we have? I trust this morning that I'm speaking to a group of people that have found that being thankful is the best life to live. And that we are in that little group, if you want to call it a little group, of 1%, or of 10%, excuse me, with the one leper who returned to give thanks. I trust that we're all in that group. In closing, you know, the last Thursday of November has been designated Thanksgiving Day in the United States, and I think that's wonderful that our government even sees a need of having a day where we spend time in thanking others and God, most of all, for the blessings that we enjoy. But to the Christian, once a year is not often enough. It's a way of life. every day. So on Thursday, as we gather with friends and family and we have a big meal and we enjoy fellowshipping with each other, let's also remember what God has done for us, not only on that day, but every day of the year. Throughout our life, let us actively cultivate gratefulness, thankfulness in our heart. It's an attitude a Christian cannot do without. God has been good to us and we should give thanks. Let's kneel and pray.