Title Abundant Thanksgiving (Colossians 2:6-7) (Thanksgiving)
Contents
A scholar visited a certain school and conducted a scholarship class. The superintendent asked, pointing to the obliquely tilted globe. "Why is this globe tilted so obliquely?" The pointed student was startled and said, "I didn't." The superintendent said to the homeroom teacher, "I asked this student why the earth is tilted at an angle, and this student replied that he did not. What happened?" This time the homeroom teacher says. "That student is a good student. If the crab said it wasn't like that, he wouldn't have." Gi-chan Scholarship This time, I told the principal what happened to me, and what happened to this school? Said. The headmaster said, "It's like all domestic products!" They say It's a funny story, but the average tilt of the Earth is 23.5 degrees. God made it that way. Because the earth is tilted in this way, the seasons change and there are four seasons and four seasons. That is why we can enjoy the sun, moon, stars, wind, snow, and rain, and live each day with vitality with the benefits of nature. All of this is the grace of God.
In fact, it must be true that most of the saints live without even thinking about this. So are we. However, Romans 1:21 says, “When humans fall, they do not know how to thank God or give glory to God, and their hearts are darkened by vanity and foolishness.” That's right. Those who fear God are those who give thanks. Thank you, everything will be fine. Being grateful also makes you healthy and happy. But if you are not thankful, everything will be ruined. That is why, through today's text, he told us to "abundantly give thanks."
We have all received Jesus Christ as Lord and have become the saved people of God who are rooted and built up in Him. I am grateful to be born and live in this world, but how grateful I am to live in the special grace of receiving Jesus Christ as Lord by the grace of God, taking root and building up in him. Naturally, we should give thanks to God in abundance.
So, what kind of gratitude is overflowing gratitude?
First, overflowing gratitude comes from faith.
Today's text says, "Stand steadfast in the faith, abounding in thanksgiving." Without faith, there is no thanksgiving. Because true gratitude comes from faith.
A high level of gratitude is the result of a high level of faith. People with good faith are thankful, not people who have good circumstances and conditions. Without faith, there is no overflowing gratitude.
Faith and gratitude are in direct proportion. We become thankful as much as we believe, and we become people of faith as much as we are thankful. The evaluation of how good or bad a person's belief is can be seen by looking at how grateful he or she is, whether or not he lives with gratitude on a daily basis. Therefore, the greatest faith is the faith that gives thanks in all things. Whether there are good things or bad things, whether things are going well or not, being grateful for everything is the highest virtue and the highest faith. When we give thanks for everything, blessings come and miracles happen.
Second, overflowing gratitude is mature gratitude.
Too many times in life things happen that we don't want to happen. Who wants to be poor, who wants to suffer from disease? Who wants their children to fail? Nevertheless, unwanted things come to us all of a sudden. This is life. But the Bible says, “Give thanks in everything” (1 Thessalonians 5:18). Gratitude is the best anticancer drug, antidote, and antiseptic.
There is a book called "Prison to praise" by Merlin Carrothus. This book is a great example of how gratitude and praise can change lives. There was a young man who had an alcoholic father. As with all addictions, alcoholism is not an easy problem to get out of. The mother and the son and his wife prayed hard for the change of the father. Nevertheless, it did not change. But instead of resenting and discouraged, I decided to just be grateful. I was thankful that my father did not drink too much even if he drank alcohol. I was thankful that even if I collapsed while drinking, I usually collapsed at home. I just started to appreciate what I see and feel. After a while, my father asked. “I watched TV and heard that drug addicts have changed, will alcoholism change too?” It meant believing in Jesus.
Change is not made by human power. Humans do not create any value. Humans are merely accepting beings. So I called it a bowl. The value of a vessel depends on what it contains. If it contains rice, it is a rice bowl, and if it contains water, it is a water bowl. Acceptance is faith. “To all who received him, to those who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God” (John 1:12) Accepting all the realities and praising and giving thanks on the spot is a mature faith.
Third, overflowing thanks is thanksgiving in advance.
The growth of faith is going one step further and giving thanks in advance. I like the words of Psalm 37:4. Look at the sequence, "Rejoice in the Lord and he will give you the desires of your heart." Rejoice and be grateful first. And later, he grants the wishes of his heart. Excessive gratitude always produces miracles. Giving thanks brings glory not only to God, but to those who give thanks. Proverbs 3:9 says, "Honor the LORD with your wealth and with the firstfruits of your produce, and your storehouses will be full, and your presses will overflow with new wine." With thanksgiving, your storehouses will be full, and new wine will overflow.
The great thing about faith is that you have not yet received it or have not been there yet, but you can enjoy it now and live with gratitude and joy. This is the power of faith. It's not a must-see or a must-see. Faith is seeing what will happen 5 or 10 years in advance, giving thanks, enjoying and rejoicing in advance.
The nation of Israel is a grateful nation. That is why God blesses them. 20% of Nobel Prize winners are Jews. 30% of the world's scientists are Jewish. There are 21 people who move the world in the 20th century, and 15 of them are Jews. There are many Jews who excel in all fields. Writers, artists, politicians, scientists, and journalists, there are countless.
In America, when Jews make money and leave, Chinese and Japanese people come in and make money, and when they leave for a more comfortable and nice place, Koreans come in and make money. Then Hispanics and other Southeast Asians and Africans come in and make money.
But from a young age, Jews are not raised to become scientists, nor to make money. Because they fear God, draw close to God, keep God's commandments, and live according to God first, they do well because they are wise, they do well because they are intelligent, and because they are sincere, everything goes well. God is blessing them.
A person who knows how to be thankful can live happily in any environment, and a person who complains and resents will live a hellish life in any good environment. A grateful person makes himself happy and makes others happy. Those who have a grateful heart are truly the happy people on this earth. Who owns true happiness? There are people who have many things but are greedy for more possessions and live an unhappy life full of complaints and resentment. Happiness doesn't necessarily come from having big and many things. Gratitude is a real medicine. Life. May this life-enriching gratitude fill your hearts, your families, and this nation and this nation, in the name of the Lord.
102 Puritans from England left for the United States in search of religious freedom. It's from 1620. Shortly after arriving, more than half of them starved to death and died of disease. Moreover, even those who remained suffered from the yearly famine. Then they proclaimed a fasting prayer and clinged to God. It wasn't the first time I had declared a fast and prayed like that. Then, at some point, once again, we were in a very difficult crisis.
They thought they should fast and pray again. During a discussion about fasting and prayer, a farmer made this suggestion. "Until now, we have been fasting and begging God for help. But now, I want to think differently. Although there is a famine and the brothers and sisters are suffering from diseases, I think we have something to be grateful for. It's not as comfortable as in Europe, but we do have religious freedom and political freedom. Besides, we have a vast expanse of land before us. So why not set a time of thanksgiving instead of fasting to give thanks to God?" The farmer's words made a profound impact on those present. So instead of fasting week, we declared thanks week and gave thanks before God. Thanksgiving, which was held in search of gratitude in a situation where we had to fast, works miracles.
Do not fast today. Eat and drink today. Be grateful, rejoice and be happy today. If you do not enjoy it today, you will not be able to enjoy it forever. Even if there is nothing to be thankful for, even if there is nothing to be thankful for, I bless you in the name of the Lord that you give thanks in advance and rejoice in advance. Other than that, if you can, don't traumatize it and don't take debt. However, I hope that you can be grateful and rejoice by giving thanks and rejoicing in advance. You will surely see a miracle.