Texts: Luke 17:11–19; Romans 1:21
Big Idea: Thankfulness is the key to breakthrough. Gratitude doesn’t just heal you — it restores you.

Welcome to Redemption Church of Plano, Tx. My name is Chris Fluitt and I thankful to be in the 3rd week of our series.

For the handout mentioned in the message, please use the link below:

http://bit.ly/4oJVchz

Let’s be honest.
Disappointment hits everybody.

You thought the relationship was going somewhere.
You thought the job was secure.
You thought the open door was going to stay open.

And then it didn’t.

And when disappointment shows up, the first thing to leave is gratitude.

You can have blessings in one area and still be disappointed in another.
You can get a small victory and not even enjoy it because you are still hurting over what did not happen.

And disappointment starts whispering:
“God forgot you.
Nothing works out for you.
Why even try anymore?”

But what if the key to breakthrough is not complicated?
What if the thing that brings hope back is not money, opportunity, or talent?

What if the key to breakthrough
is thankfulness?

We live in a world starving for gratitude.

Starving For Gratitude:

People do not just want to be thanked.
People HURT without gratitude.

No wonder disappointment is everywhere.

So let me ask you:

Who wants breakthrough?
Who wants joy back?
Who wants hope back?

God shows us how in Luke 17.
…And it starts with thankfulness.

Luke 17 tells us about ten people with a dreaded disease.
Leprosy did not just make you sick.
It made you untouchable.

You had to live outside the community.
You had to shout “Unclean” so people would not get near you.
You lost your relationships, your reputation, and often parts of your body.

In that isolation, they see Jesus coming.

Luke 17:13

They cry out with the last strength they have.

Jesus responds:

Luke 17:14

Why a priest?

Leviticus 14:2–3

Because of an obscure Old Testament law in Leviticus 14 where the priest had to examine a healed leper and confirm restoration.

Here is what makes this incredible:

We have no biblical or rabbinical record of a Jewish leper ever being healed like this.
Nobody ever needed this law.
Nobody even hoped for restoration.
Until Jesus stepped into the story.

Isn’t it great when Jesus steps into the story?

Luke 17:14
“As they went, they were cleansed.”

Healing happened on the way.
Sometimes healing happens as you obey God… SO DON’T STOP! Keep going!

All Ten were cleansed.
But one of them does something different…

Luke 17:15-16 (NIV)
One of them, when he saw he was healed, came back, praising God in a loud voice.
He threw himself at Jesus’s feet and thanked Him. He was a Samaritan.

Then Jesus asks:

Luke 17:17
“Were not all ten cleansed? Where are the other nine?”

Let’s pause here.

Most people never return.
Most people never give thanks.
Most never come back to worship.

Most never pause to say thank you to God or to anyone else.

For Example… I asked you the last 3 weeks to make a simple short video thanking God in advance and to post it on your social media… Have you done this?

Thankfulness is the minority response.

This is why worship matters.
Worship is you returning to Jesus.

Reading Scripture during the week is not just a religious activity.
It is you returning to give thanks.

Praying is you returning.
Thanking God at work or at home is you returning.

Watch what Jesus says to the one who returned.

Luke 17:18-19

Now watch the language Luke uses for what happened:

katharizō – cleansed v14
Cleansed on the outside.

iaomai – healed v15
Physical healing – A real cure.

sozo – made well
Restored, made whole, saved.

Ten were cleansed.
Ten were healed.
And only one was restored.

Now think about what restoration means.

Leprosy destroyed the body.
People lost feeling, lost fingers, lost toes.
Skin broke open.
Scars covered them.

So when Jesus uses the word sozo, He is saying something bigger than healing.
He is saying,
“I am restoring what was lost.”

Could it be that the one who returned walked away with no scars?
No deformities?
Nothing missing?
Nothing broken?
Nothing that even looked like leprosy had ever touched him?

Ten got better.
One got whole.

Ten got the miracle.
One got the Miracle Worker.

Ten got their skin back.
One got his life back.

And the man who experienced sozo did not have to go show himself to a priest – because the One who restored him was his Priest – Jesus!

Gratitude brings restoration.
Gratitude brings wholeness.
Gratitude opens the door for God to do more than you expected.

Some of you have been cleansed.
Some have been healed.
But God wants to restore you.

UNTHANKFULNESS IS SERIOUS – ROMANS 1:21

If you think thankfulness is small, think again.

Romans 1 is known for a long list of sin issues that cause destruction… Check out what made the list.

Romans 1:21

“Although they knew God, they neither glorified Him as God nor gave thanks to Him.”

A lack of thanks is a sin! A lack of thanks brings destruction.

The very first step away from God
was unthankfulness.

Unthankfulness leads to darkness.
Thankfulness leads to breakthrough.

OUR TURN TO RETURN

You and I are that one leper.

We were far off.
We were unclean.
We were lost.
And Jesus came near.

He did not just forgive your sin.
He restored your relationship with God.

We have a choice today:
Will we keep moving?
Or will we return?

Breakthrough begins when you return.
Restoration begins when you give thanks.
Wholeness begins when you fall at the feet of Jesus.

Today is our moment to return.

YOUR TURN TO RETURN

1. Speak Gratitude Out Loud

2. Honor Someone Who Helped You

3. Take a Moment to Return to Jesus