God's Glory Church

Many things happen in our lives along the way. We are going about our business, and suddenly something happens, and all our plans change in an instant. We are rushing to work, but then our relatives call us, and we have to drop everything and urgently go home. Likewise in the earthly life of Christ, a lot of things happened to Him on the way somewhere and usually this greatly changed the lives of those who met Him.
“And when He entered a certain village, ten lepers met Him, who stopped at a distance and said in a loud voice: Jesus the Mentor! have mercy on us. When He saw them, He said to them: Go, show yourself to the priests. And as they walked, they purified themselves. One of them, seeing that he was healed, returned, glorifying God with a loud voice, and fell prostrate at His feet, thanking Him; and it was a Samaritan. Then Jesus said, “Were not ten cleansed?” where is nine? How did they not return to give glory to God except this foreigner? And he said to him: get up, go; your faith has saved you.” (Luke 17:12-20)

In our lives, many things happen on the way somewhere. If the lepers had not followed the word of Jesus to the priests, the healing would not have occurred. But because they went to the right place at the right time, through their faith and obedience, healing came into their lives.
1) Many things in our lives happen along the way – it is important to notice them and thank God!

When we ask God for something, it is also important for us not to forget, and then to thank Him for the answer.
Gratitude brings us back to Christ, but an ungrateful heart leads us into vanity and steals salvation.

If the Samaritan had not returned to Christ to thank Him, would he have been healed? Yes, all ten lepers were healed. But it was gratitude that helped him not only receive physical healing, but also gain the gift of eternal life.

Many are not in church today because they have not returned to thank the Lord for His answers and help in their lives.

2) Gratitude helps you walk in God’s light
Gratitude is important not only because it brings us back to the one we want to thank, it helps us to be in fellowship with other brothers and sisters. When the lepers went to the priests, before receiving confirmation that they were cleansed of leprosy, the priest had to carefully examine them. And this is a prototype for us that if we have a grateful heart, then we will be ready to walk not only in God’s light, but we will also be open to our brothers and sisters.

“If we say that we have fellowship with Him, but walk in darkness, then we lie and do not act in the truth; if we walk in the lightas He is in the light, then we have fellowship one with anotherand the blood of Jesus Christ His Son cleanses us from all sin.” (1 John 1:6,7)

Gratitude enlightens our lives and helps us walk in the light before God and others.
Gratitude doesn’t just bring us to church on Sundays—it brings us to home group, it motivates us to be mentored and to be open to receiving service from others and serving the Lord ourselves.

3) Gratitude motivates us to serve the Lord and do what He tells us

Many good deeds are done precisely out of gratitude to the Lord for what He has done in our lives. In the gospel we read about one man who was in serious trouble and no one could help him until Christ came into his life:
“And they sailed to the country of the Gadarenes, which lies opposite Galilee. When He came ashore, He was met by a man from the city, possessed by demons for a long time, who had not put on clothes, and who lived not in a house, but in tombs. When he saw Jesus, he cried out, fell down before Him and said in a loud voice: What have you to do with me, Jesus, Son of the Most High God? I beg You, do not torment me. For Jesus commanded the unclean spirit to come out of the man, because it had tormented him for a long time, so that they bound him with chains and bonds, keeping him safe; but he broke the bonds and was driven by the demon into the desert. Jesus asked him: What is your name? He said: legion, because many demons entered into it. And they asked Jesus not to command them to go into the abyss. There was also a large herd of pigs grazing on the mountain; and the demons asked Him to allow them to enter into them. He let them. The demons came out of the man and entered the pigs, and the herd rushed down a steep slope into the lake and drowned. The shepherds, seeing what had happened, ran and told it in the city and in the villages. And they came out to see what had happened; and when they came to Jesus, they found the man from whom the demons had gone out, sitting at the feet of Jesus, clothed and in his right mind; and were horrified. Those who saw them told them how the demoniac was healed. And all the people of the Gadarene region asked Him to leave them, because they were seized with great fear. He entered the boat and returned. The man from whom the demons had come out asked Him to be with Him. But Jesus sent him away, saying, “Return to your house and tell us what God has done for you.” He went and preached throughout the whole city what Jesus had done for him.” (Luke 8:26-39)
This man, just like the Samaritan from the first story, really wanted to be close to Christ, and Jesus showed him how he could show his gratitude. His gratitude manifested itself in the fact that he began to testify to everyone about God’s miracle in his life. There is no greater gratitude to the Lord than our changed lives and our testimony to others of salvation through faith in Jesus Christ.

One day a man said firmly:
-What and who is this God? It doesn’t exist at all! It was simply invented by the strong for the weak, so that they would submit to the powerful without complaint!
This man came out to the steep seashore at night and shouted at the top of his lungs:
– God! You’re gone! Can you hear? You don’t exist at all!
“I hear, I hear,” a voice came from the sky in response.
– I don’t believe in you! — the man shouted less confidently.
– Yes, yes, my dear. I can hear you well, you don’t have to shout.
The moon peeking out from behind a cloud illuminated everything around with its bright, cold light. God was nowhere to be seen.
– Well, if you exist, then show yourself to me! – the man said very quietly.
Suddenly, a strong gust of wind threw the man off the cliff and onto the rocks. Having woken up, the man rose from the stones alive and unharmed. “Thank God, I think I survived!”
“You see how little it takes for you to glorify me,” said a voice inside the man.

4) Gratitude helps to maintain faith and not leave God

Is it easy to thank God when you go through difficulties and illnesses in your life? No. In such situations it is very difficult to thank God. But it is gratitude that helps to maintain faith and not leave God.

When Job was faced with circumstances that he did not expect, AND BY BIG COUNT HE DID NOT DESERVE THEM. It was gratitude that helped him maintain his faith and not leave the Lord.
When it seemed that everything was already bad in Job’s life and couldn’t get any worse, one of his servants brought news worse than all the previous ones:
“While this one was speaking, another came and said, “Your sons and your daughters ate and drank wine in the house of their firstborn brother; and behold, a great wind came from the desert and swept through the four corners of the house, and the house fell on the youths, and they died; and I alone was saved to tell you. Then Job stood up and tore his outer garment, shaved his head and fell to the ground and bowed down and said: Naked I came from my mother’s womb, naked I will return. The Lord gave, and the Lord has taken away; [as it pleased the Lord, so it was done;] Blessed be the name of the Lord! In all this, Job did not sin and did not say anything unreasonable about God.” (Job 1:18-22)

I don’t know what exactly Job felt at that moment, but I see that it was gratitude to the Creator that helped him not to lose faith completely and that it saved him from sin and complete disappointment.
Is it easy to thank the Lord in the midst of problems and trials? I think it’s very difficult. But is it important to give thanks? I think it’s very important!

It is gratitude that helps maintain faith in the midst of problems and trials

Recently our entire family became ill. All the children and wife were ill for two weeks. Was it easy for me and our family during this time? No, it was very difficult, especially when our youngest son got sick. But what helped at this time was gratitude to the Lord for His strength and support, for the prayers and support of brothers and sisters, for the fact that He saved me from the whole family. I was the only one who wasn’t sick all this time, and we all live in a one-room apartment. Therefore, often, if one person fell ill, then with a high probability everyone else fell ill. But God protects and gives relief during trials!

There is a story about gratitude that I would like to share with you:
A blind boy was sitting on the steps of the building, with a hat lying at his feet. He held a cardboard sign that read: “I am blind, please help.”
There were only a few coins in the hat.
A man was passing by. He threw a few coins into the boy’s hat, and then took the tablet and, turning it over, began to write something. Having finished, he placed it so that all passersby could see what was written there.
Soon the hat began to fill up quickly. Many people couldn’t pass by. After lunch, the man who wrote the new sign came to check on the boy and see how things were going.
The boy recognized his steps and asked: “Did you change the writing on the cardboard this morning? What did you write?
The man replied: “I wrote the truth. I wrote the same thing as you, just a little differently. I wrote: “Today is a beautiful day, but I can’t see it.”

Scripture tells us:

“Give thanks ineverything: for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus concerning you.” (1 Thess. 5:18)
There are many things we can thank God for today. But the most important thing for you and me is to understand what gratitude to the Lord is?

Gratitude is always returning to God and saying thank youfor all the small and big miracles in our lives.

Gratitude is serving the Lord. To go, like the demon-possessed Gadarene, to where they had previously expelled Christ and did not allow Him to preach the Gospel.

Gratitude is welcoming Christ into your homeby welcoming the home group and people who need hospitality.

Gratitude is remaining faithful to Godeven in times of illness and trials.