HOW OFTEN SHOULD I THANK GOD? | Luke 17:11-18| Pastor Doc Cunigan

The question, “How often should God be thanked?” starts with the plain fact that God grants benefits daily. God blesses knowingly and unknowingly, every day, in ways that no human being can even keep count of. The human body itself stands as one example, because God keeps it functioning with a precision nobody else can duplicate. God is so good at what he does that people grow apathetic toward his perfection, and that is a sad thing.

God’s immeasurable generosity means thanking him every day and all day would not be too much. Gratitude cannot catch up with all that God is doing, but gratitude can become more mindful, more deliberate, and more honest. The Bible helps that mindfulness, because the more the soul knows God’s Word, the more properly the soul can credit him, glorify him, magnify him, and extol him. The lack of thanks often comes from not knowing God the way God ought to be known.

The truth of God’s greatness makes gratitude a debt. God is responsible for life, forgiveness, healing, mercy, grace, and every blessing. The creature owes deference to the Creator, not the other way around. To know the magnanimous grace of God and then ignore him does not make sense. The soul that knows God is worthy ought to thank him as much as humanly possible.

The statistics about belief and prayer show a world and a nation drifting downward. Many people say they believe in a god or some universal spirit, but far fewer believe in the God of the Bible. Only a small portion say God is the most important element of life. If people do not believe God is, they will not praise him, worship him, or extol him.

The one true and living God is not just a god among gods. The God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, the God who created Adam and Eve, says he alone is God. False gods cannot create, speak, save, heal, or respond. Praise given to anything other than the Creator is in vain.

The six “$64,000 questions” press the matter personally. Where does the soul stand in thanking God? Is the true and living God believed? Is God praised, and how often? Is the Word read daily? Has gratitude been forgotten? Christ stands as the only true role model, the Son of God who forgives sin, heals diseases, and holds all power. Since Jesus does not run from leprosy, cancer, COVID, death, fire, or the devil, the question remains, can God be praised too much?

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Key Takeaways

• 1. Daily benefits demand daily gratitude. God gives benefits every day, and many of those benefits arrive before the mind even notices them. Gratitude begins when the soul stops treating God’s steady mercy like background noise. The body breathing, the heart beating, and mercy holding life together are not accidents, they are gifts that deserve attention. [05:32]
• 2. Knowing God deepens real thanks. The Word of God trains the heart to credit God properly instead of vaguely feeling blessed. The more God is known through Scripture, the more gratitude gains substance, direction, and reverence. Thanksgiving becomes richer when it is tied to who God has revealed himself to be, not merely to what a person happens to receive. [08:07]
• 3. The true God alone is worthy. Belief in “a god” is not the same as worshiping the God who speaks in Scripture. False gods cannot create, forgive, heal, or answer, because God says there is no other God beside him. Praise becomes vain when it rises toward anything that did not make heaven and earth and cannot save the soul. [22:41]
• 4. Gratitude must answer hard questions. The “$64,000 questions” force the soul to stop hiding behind general belief and answer plainly. Where does thanksgiving stand, is God being praised, is the Bible being read, has gratefulness been forgotten? Honest answers matter because death can come today, and every soul will eventually stand before the true and living God. [24:49]
• 5. Christ fears nothing he rules. Jesus does not run from disease, death, sin, fire, or the devil because all power is in his hand. His authority over all things marks the broad distinction between God and man, and that distinction rightly humbles the creature. Worship becomes reasonable when the soul sees that Christ has power over everything that makes humanity afraid. [37:33]
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Youtube Chapters

• [00:00] - Welcome
• [04:52] - How Often Should God Be Thanked?
• [05:32] - Daily Benefits From the Creator
• [07:11] - Taking God’s Grace for Granted
• [08:07] - Knowing God Through His Word
• [10:23] - Gratitude and the Soul
• [12:59] - Psalms That Teach Thanksgiving
• [14:43] - Belief in God Around the World
• [18:40] - How Important Is God?
• [22:41] - The One True Living God
• [24:49] - Six $64,000 Questions
• [31:13] - Daily Bible and Daily Gratitude
• [34:08] - Practicing Obedient Thankfulness
• [36:17] - Jesus Has Power Over All
• [39:48] - Can God Be Praised Too Much?

1. Psalm 103:1-2

1. Psalm 107:8

1. Psalm 136:1

1. In Psalm 103:1-2, what is the soul told to do, and what is it told not to forget? [05:24]
2. What are some daily benefits named or described, especially in the way the human body is kept functioning with precision? [06:20]
3. What reasons are given for why people often fail to thank God as often as they should? [07:13]
4. What six personal questions are raised to test where a person stands in gratitude, belief, praise, Scripture reading, and gratefulness? [24:49]

1. Psalm 103 says, “forget not all his benefits.” Why does forgetting God’s benefits seem to be more than poor memory? How does it reveal something about the heart? [12:59]
2. Psalm 136 says to give thanks to the LORD because he is good. How does thanksgiving change when it is rooted not only in gifts received, but in God’s character? [13:47]
3. Many people say they believe in “a god” or a higher power. Why is that presented as very different from believing in the God of the Bible? [22:41]
4. If Christ has authority over disease, death, sin, and the devil, what does that help explain about why he alone is worthy of praise? [37:33]

1. What are some benefits from God this week that could have easily been treated like background noise—health, breath, protection, provision, forgiveness, peace? Which of those has been most overlooked? [05:32]
2. Gratitude grows when the heart becomes more mindful. What practical habit could help that happen in daily life: a morning prayer, a written list of mercies, pausing before meals, or thanking God at the end of the day? [08:07]
3. If the Word helps a person know God better and thank him more properly, what would it look like to read Scripture more consistently this week? What has been getting in the way? [31:27]
4. The creature owes the Creator gratitude, not the other way around. Is there any area of life where entitlement has quietly replaced thanksgiving? How can that be recognized honestly? [11:20]
5. Praise given to something other than the true and living God is in vain. What kinds of things are most likely to steal awe, trust, or devotion—success, people, comfort, fear, or something else? [29:33]
6. The question “Have I forgotten to be grateful?” is worth answering plainly. In this season, would the honest answer be yes, no, or not entirely? What makes that answer true? [32:28]
7. If Jesus does not run from leprosy, cancer, COVID, death, fire, or the devil, how might that strengthen trust in him during the very thing that presently causes the most fear? [39:15]