Title: Sacrifice of Thanksgiving (Psalm 50:14-15)
Contents
There is a proverb that says, “Enemies are engraved on stones, but grace on water.” This means that bad feelings are long lasting and grace is easily forgotten. But we must be the ones who engrave grace on stones and enemies on water.
Then what are the blessings promised to those who give thanks?
First, he said, “He saves us from tribulation.”
Verse 14 says, “Sacrifice to God with thanksgiving, and call on me in the day of trouble, and I will deliver you.” Verse 23 says, “I will show the salvation of God to those who do it right.” God will remember those who offer sacrifices in thanksgiving.
Second, he said, “God is glorified.”
Verse 23 says, “He who offers sacrifices of thanksgiving glorifies me.”
The purpose of God's creation of man is to glorify God through man. Therefore, the life of gratitude becomes the life of human nature. A life in which children are grateful to their parents is a life of filial piety, a life in which the people appreciate the country is a life of loyalty, and a life in which a couple is grateful is a life of love. Therefore, a life of gratitude is a life of godliness, and that is a life that glorifies God.
Third, a blessing is a blessing to be honored.
Verse 23 says, “I will show the salvation of God to those who do it right.” God's salvation is far-reaching. It is salvation between the soul and the body. The ultimate salvation of man is spiritual salvation in which the soul is saved. However, it is salvation for the sick to be saved from disease, and it is salvation for those who have failed to recover from failure. Where does this divine salvation come from? The text said that it comes from a life of gratitude.
In Mark 14, Mary broke the alabaster and poured it on Jesus' feet, saying, "Wherever the gospel is preached in the whole world, tell also what this woman has done, in remembrance of her" (Mark 14:9). Proper gratitude honors a person in this way.
So who can be grateful?
I. Those who do not forget grace can be thankful.
God said, “When you eat and you are satisfied, and you will build and live in beautiful houses, and your flocks will multiply, your silver and gold will multiply, and all your possessions will become abundant, I will fear that your heart will become proud and you will forget the Lord your God.” I did.
When cattle are prosperous, silver and gold are multiplied, and when we are satisfied and live in a beautiful house, it is the same as always, forgetting God. This is human pride. When suffering, tribulation, failure, and disease come, it is easy to blame God. But when children study well and grow up well, do you think this is a blessing of wisdom from God? Don't you think that my children are smart and smart and do well in studies? Or, don't you think you're good at studying because the school district is good and the school is good by having a first-class teacher study outside the box?
Deuteronomy 8:17-18 says, “And I am afraid, lest you say in your heart, ‘By my power and by the power of my hand I have obtained this riches.’ Remember the LORD your God, for he has given you power to obtain wealth.” said
It is saying that the success of my business does not mean that I am successful because I have excellent money making skills. It is saying that it is not my ability to get promoted at work, and to be promoted.
It's not that my driving skills are good enough that my car rolls without accidents. “Because he has given me the ability to obtain riches” - It is said that the source of blessing is God.
Dean, who was taken prisoner in the vicinity of Daejeon during the 6.25 Incident, went back to a village in Muju, who risked his life for hiding and caring for him during the war, after being released as a prisoner of war exchange to congratulate them on their grace and send their children to the United States. He took them and gave them the gift of Boeun, who is responsible for lifelong education. Because he was a man who knew grace and was able to give thanks, God saved him in the day of trouble.
Giving thanks is not enough, and not doing it is not enough. Just as rights always come with responsibilities, those who are gracious must reciprocate with gratitude.
II. A person who thinks can be grateful.
In English, “denkyu” is said to be derived from “sink”. Gratitude comes from those who remember grace. Therefore, there can be no gratitude in those who only satisfy their own greed. Gratitude is something that those who know grace can do.
That's why Psalm 103:2 says, "Praise the Lord, O my soul, and do not forget all his grace." David said, “He who forgives all your iniquities and heals all your diseases, who redeems your life from destruction, crowns you with kindness and compassion, who satisfies your desires with good things, so that your youth is renewed like the eagle’s.” He said (Psalm 103:3).
What is that first appreciation? “He forgives all your iniquities.”
I am grateful for the grace that heals all diseases, redeems life from destruction, shows kindness and compassion, and satisfies my desires, but the grace that is most precious to us is not the grace that “forgiven all my sins”. would you?
We are debtors of love that cannot be repaid even if we give thanks for the rest of our lives just for this grace that has been redeemed from sin. But God blessed the family, children, workplace, and health - a good church that can serve in the last days .... a blessed and beautiful motherland - so much, so much, so abundantly, on that grace. Thank you for the grace you have given us, thank you for the grace you have received, and thank you for the grace you will pour out on us in the future.
Ⅲ. Those who can make sacrifices can be grateful.
Verse 14 says, “Offer sacrifices to God with thanksgiving.”
Sacrifice means sacrifice. Therefore, to offer a sacrifice of thanks means to “give thanks for sacrificing me”. Gratitude comes with self-sacrifice.
That is why the Apostle James said, “If a brother or a sister is naked and has no daily bread, of what profit is it if any of you say to him, ‘Peace, keep warm, and be satisfied, and do not give him food for his body? Likewise, faith without works is dead in itself.”
Doing good requires self-sacrifice. The Bible says, “You shall keep the feasts before the LORD your God, and you shall rejoice completely because the LORD your God will bless you in all your goods and in all that you put your hands on. You shall not show it to anyone, but let each one give according to his strength, according to the blessing of the Lord your God” (Deuteronomy 16:15-17)
The season of gratitude is back. God said, “Do not be grudgingly or under compulsion, for God loves a cheerful giver” (2 Corinthians 9:7). I hope that you will become the saints who offer sacrifices in thanksgiving according to the blessings you have received, the amount of faith you have.