Title: Those who give thanks receive greater blessings
1. Introduction
Today is Thanksgiving Day and the 4th anniversary of our church.
On Thanksgiving Sunday, in 1620, 102 Puritans searched for freedom of religion and landed in Plymouth, New England, on the Mayflower after a lot of hard work. After nearly half died that winter, and after a bountiful fall harvest of 1621 the following year, Governor William Bradford invited neighboring Indians to give thanks and a feast for three days. In 1863, Abraham Lincoln was president.
Spring Water Church of Our Word established this church with the founding spirit of “one God, one person, one church” on the day of Thanksgiving in 1996 by the grace of God. Although it is a small church now, it is trying to grow into a bigger tree according to the vision of 1270.
2. What is the main point of the text?
Acknowledging that the biblical text can be interpreted differently by the eye of the beholder, I think the point of the text is that it was not a Jew, but a Gentile Samaritan who turned to Jesus and fell on his face to give thanks. I think the text reveals the essence of gratitude through the paradox that the Samaritan, who thought he would not be grateful, was thankful, not the Jew who thought he would be thankful.
3. Then, what is the essence of gratitude shown in the text?
first. God is pleased with those who give thanks.
Man was created in the image of God. “The soul of man is the lamp of the Lord, Proverbs 20:27, He who offers sacrifices of thanksgiving glorifies me, and to him I will show my glory,” he said, Psalm 50:23. What does it mean? The heart of God and the heart of man are mutually compatible.
How happy are we as humans when we don't expect anything in return from someone, and when that person comes and expresses our gratitude? In the same way, God did not give grace through the latter rain or the early rain hoping for something in return, but He is more pleased with those who appreciate the grace than those who did not respond to the grace. God is also pleased with those who give thanks.
second. Those who are grateful receive greater blessings.
When Jesus healed ten lepers, he did not expect anything in return or thanksgiving. But while he was delighted to see the Gentile Samaritan who had come to give thanks, he was saddened by the fact that the Jews, who should have been more grateful, did not give thanks.
A boss I know always asks about religion when hiring an employee, and says that he doesn't hire people who go to church if possible. Because people who go to church talk a lot, argue well, eat snacks rudely at a dinner party, sit down and listen to what other employees have to say over a glass of wine, talk later, don't know how to reconcile, are stingy, only I know, They don't know the company's grace, and it's not good anyway. The president who said this is a large church elder.
But the bigger problem is that the elder's words don't sound like nonsense, but yes, they make sense! It is because there are many topics that we can sympathize with. Should people who believe in Jesus and go to church be like this? The fact that the nine Jews who believed in God did not give thanks, but only a Gentile Samaritan returned to give thanks is still evident today. I hope you will become a saint who can greatly appreciate God's grace, the grace of work, the grace of parents, and the grace of friends. The Samaritan who returned and thanked him received the greater blessing that his soul was saved as well as his physical illness. Gratitude breeds greater gratitude.
third. The best kind of gratitude is thanks in advance.
It is not a person who is not grateful for something to be grateful for. It is the duty of the saints to give thanks because there is something to be thankful for. However, like Habakkuk (Habakkuk 3:16-19) and Daniel's three friends, even though there is nothing to be thankful for, giving thanks is the greatest thanks a believer can give.
Gratitude is like the principle of pump water. To get pump water, first pour water into the pump and pump it so that water comes out. If my life is futile, thank you first, even by force. Then the living water of God will flow out like a river.
4. Closing story
In God's creation order, there are the law of yin and yang, the law of reaping what you sow, and the law of giving and receiving, that is, the law of realizing and giving thanks for God's grace. Those who keep this creative order well will be blessed. It is safe to travel by road by car, by sea by sea, and by airplane by sea. Man will be blessed if he keeps this order of creation from God. fountain of words