Title: Harvest Festival and Thanksgiving
Contents
Harvest Festival and Thanksgiving
(2009.07.05. Week) (Exodus 23:16, Deuteronomy 16:9~10)
*Lot, who was orphaned at a young age, was raised like a son by his uncle Abraham - but Lot was not grateful. Rather, for property and for pasture, Lot's shepherds often quarreled with Abraham's shepherds.
In this way, Lot, who left his uncle without gratitude, soon became a failure.
*Esther was also orphaned at a young age and was raised by her cousin Mordecai - Esther knew gratitude. I was always thankful and obedient to my cousin Mordecai, who gave me grace, and received great blessings, becoming the queen of a nation and the savior of a nation.
*Lot and Esther were both orphans - but Lot failed because he did not know gratitude, and Esther became a great success while practicing gratitude.
I hope that you will become believers who know and live thanks.
1. He tells us to give thanks in everything.
When should I thank you? What should I be thankful for?
(1 Thessalonians 5:16) - “Rejoice always”. (1 Thessalonians 5:18) - “In everything give thanks”.
It is God's will that we should always rejoice and give thanks in all things.
*Thank you for having a comfortable bed last night.
*Thank you for waking up this morning without any danger last night.
*Thank you for eating this morning without worrying about food.
*Please give thanks for coming to church without being persecuted for not being able to come to church today.
* Please be grateful for listening to the precious lesson of living with gratitude at this time through sermons.
* Please imagine that you will receive God's love after this time and give thanks in advance.
I pray that you will become grateful saints like Esther, who became a great success after living in gratitude for everything, rather than repeating the misfortune of Lot, who failed because there were conditions to be thankful for.
2. He tells us to give special thanks on the Feast of Harvest Festival.
Today we have a Thanksgiving service on the Thanksgiving Day. This feast is not one that we arbitrarily observe.
It is a feast set and commanded to be kept through the Bible.
What is the meaning of thanksgiving for the festival of harvest, which was commanded to be observed once a year?
1) Gratitude for the harvest.
(Exodus 23:16) - “Observe the Feast of Harvest, for you reap the firstfruits of what you sowed in the field.”
After harvesting the crops sown in the field, there are two festivals a year to observe as thanks for the income.
After finishing the first farming, he told them to keep the harvest festival.
After finishing the second crop, he told them to keep the Feast of Ingathering (Harvest).
So, as we wrap up the first half year, we observe the Feast of Harvest Festival.
At the end of the year, we celebrate the Thanksgiving Day.
Today we are giving thanks for this Harvest Festival in gratitude for the income we have earned over the past half year.
*Working for half a year, receiving a salary and raising income is something to be grateful for today.
*It is something to be thankful for that our children have grown beautifully over the past half year.
*It is something to be grateful for that my faith has grown over the past half year.
*It is something to be grateful for in the past half year for learning or being baptized, and for being a new member of the church during the past half year.
Thank you for all the grace you have received over the past half year.
2) Be reminded and grateful.
The Bible also teaches us to put the first sickle on the grain and offer the first sheaf to God. This is a lesson to give thanks to God first when you receive grace.
But thanksgiving for the Harvest Festival is not a thanksgiving for giving the first gleanings.
(Deuteronomy 16:9) - “You shall count seven weeks, from the first day you put the sickle on the grain.”
Even if you receive grace, you may forget about it. You may not feel it. It means to reflect on the past and find things to be grateful for.
Don't just be grateful for the grace you received today - reflect on the past half year and find things to be grateful for. - There must have been a lot to be thankful for. Please reflect on the blessings you have received and give thanks.
3) You should be grateful.
A certain evil servant did nothing for his master with one talent entrusted to him by his master. Later, while returning the monthly rent to the owner as it is - he returned it proudly saying that he brought it all without spending a single penny from the one month rent you entrusted to him - the owner said he was an evil servant and kicked him out.
He was not loyal enough for his master. It did nothing for the owner, and gave no profit.
We should not be like evil servants and should give thanks with all our might.
(Deuteronomy 16:10) - “You shall keep the Feast of Weeks before the LORD your God, and give a voluntary gift in measure of your strength, just as the LORD your God has blessed you.” - He told us to give thanks by thinking of the blessings we have received and counting our strength.
He doesn't ask you to give thanks by paying debt. Instead, he tells us not to be stingy - to give thanks as much as we can.
*If you are stingy with God - if God is also stingy - it is a loss. Please do not be stingy with God.
4) You should be happy to thank.
If you try too hard not to be stingy, you may end up complaining and regretting rather than being grateful.
If you give thanks formally and then complain or regret later, that is also not virtuous.
(Deuteronomy 16:10)-“You shall keep the Feast of Weeks before the Lord your God, and give a voluntary gift according to the blessings the Lord your God has blessed you with.”
So that you are not stingy to think for yourself, and you do not have any regrets - give the gift of your own resources with a truly grateful heart.
I hope that you will be the saints who give thanks in everything.
In particular, as you observe the Harvest Festival today, look back on the past half year and give thanks.
Please do not become a person who does not know gratitude because of your stinginess and make God's heart stingy.
Don't make the mistake of forgetting your heart's joy because of formal gratitude.
Thank you for everything and looking back on the past half year, I thank you, but I wish you a lot of happiness and blessings.
In the second half of the second half of the year, when the gratitude I give today becomes a seed, I pray that you will have many things to be thankful for and that you will be able to earn a lot of income.
*The Israelites, who have barely settled in the land of Canaan after living in the wilderness, have built their first farm in the land of Canaan, thanked God, and are living in possession of the land for eternity.
*The United States has become the most prosperous country in the world, founded by people who floated aimlessly on ships, settled in the Americas, and kept the Thanksgiving with their first income.
* I pray that you will be moved by God and receive abundant blessings by reflecting on God's grace and giving thanks for everything, volunteering and giving thanks, and giving thanks with joy.