Remembering to Give Thanks
The sermon emphasizes the importance of expressing gratitude to God, highlighting the failure of many people to do so and the consequences of this failure.
A.W. Tozer emphasizes the importance of expressing gratitude, noting that while everyone feels gratitude at some point, many fail to adequately thank those who deserve it, especially God. He reflects on the biblical account of the ten lepers, highlighting the disappointment of Christ when only one returned to give thanks. Tozer points out that this tendency to overlook gratitude towards God is prevalent in modern society, where thanks are often given to people but not to the Creator. He encourages believers to cultivate a habit of thanking God, contrasting it with the instinctive gratitude shown by others. The sermon serves as a reminder to acknowledge God's blessings and express our thanks sincerely.
Text
There is probably no such thing as a wholly thankless heart. Everyone at some time feels a sense of gratitude for benefits received. This seems to be instinctive, or if not instinctive then surely acquired at a very early age.
That a great many persons fail in the degree of their thankfulness we all know too well. Hardly anyone but has known remorse for his failure to express proper gratitude to father or mother or friend till it was too late. And most of us have felt the chill that comes to those who do acts of kindness for persons who receive them as matters of course without so much as a word of thanks. Even Christ appears to have suffered from such treatment, for after He had healed ten lepers and only one returned to give Him thanks, He asked rather sadly, ?Where are the other nine?? (Luke 17:17). We dare not read too much into this, but it seems fair to assume that He wanted the cleansed lepers to thank Him, and was disappointed when they did not. But even here we must not conclude that these men were wholly thankless. They may quite easily have been grateful to friends and relatives, or even to total strangers who might have helped them in the past, and still have failed to express their thanks to the One who deserved it most.
This habit of thanking everyone but God is not confined to those nine lepers. Enter a plane, a train, a restaurant or any other place where modern civilized men and women meet and mingle and you will see evidences of the same spirit. You will hear thanks given and acknowledged right and left without so much as a mention of God. Somewhere I read of the Christian farm boy who went to college and who in the dining room always bowed his head to thank God before beginning to eat. When some of his fellow students ribbed him for it, he grinned and said, ?Hogs don?t thank anybody either when they eat their swill.? It might have been a bit direct, but I am sure everyone got the point.
Sermon Outline
- The Instinct of Gratitude
- The Failure of Thankfulness
- The Habit of Thanking Everyone but God
- The Importance of Thanking God
- Thanking God is a fundamental aspect of a Christian's life
- It is a way of acknowledging God's provision and care
Key Quotes
“That a great many persons fail in the degree of their thankfulness we all know too well.” — A.W. Tozer
“Even Christ appears to have suffered from such treatment, for after He had healed ten lepers and only one returned to give Him thanks, He asked rather sadly, ?Where are the other nine??” — A.W. Tozer
“Hogs don?t thank anybody either when they eat their swill.” — A.W. Tozer
Application Points
- Make a conscious effort to express gratitude to God in your daily life, whether through prayer, worship, or simply acknowledging His presence.
- Recognize the importance of gratitude in cultivating a deeper sense of dependence on God and a stronger faith.
- Be mindful of the consequences of failing to express gratitude to God, such as a lack of awareness and a lack of faith.