Title Let's Give Thanks / Psalm 100:1-5
Contents
Title: Thank you
Text: Psalm 100:1-5
Today is Thanksgiving. I pray that God's blessings be with all the saints who worship God on this day.
The Thanksgiving we observe today began in the United States. In 1620, Puritans who were severely persecuted in England moved to a new land, unknown land, in search of religious freedom in a small 150-ton ship called the May Flower. They first landed in what is now Boston, Plymouth, but the land was difficult to live on. During the winter that year, many people fell ill and died of freezing. Still, those who survived farmed seeds brought from England. Cutting down trees, uprooting their roots, plowing fields and sowing seeds is not usually hard work. The people who helped me a lot at this time were the Indians who lived there.
In this way, the plants that had been planted during the summer and autumn came to grow and bear fruit. After the harvest was over, they gathered at the church. There, we first gave thanks to God. They sincerely thanked God. Thousands of people have died in the past year, but they believed that it was God's grace that they survived and were thankful. There were many difficulties in farming, but I thought that it was God's grace that I overcame all the difficulties and now I am harvesting.
What conditions will they be grateful for? From a human point of view, there is nothing to be grateful for. But they were grateful. Above all, I was grateful for the freedom of faith. I wanted to praise and worship God in the way I believed without being persecuted for my faith for even a single day. However, their wish came true. For the past year, by the grace of God, these people have been living their lives freely enjoying the freedom of their faith. So thank you.
In addition to that, I was given the strength to still live, and I was just thankful that I was able to harvest food for one year. I am grateful to have received a one-year life extension. Living every day is God's grace. So they were really grateful. Gratitude amidst these impossible circumstances is the basis of today's “Thanksgiving Day.”
And after the service, people invited neighboring Indians to a small party together. They slaughtered wild turkeys, cooked them, and together they encouraged each other before the harvest. They shared what they had. So, on Thanksgiving Day in the United States, we don't just use the word "Thanks", but we write "Thanksgiving" by adding the word "Giving" together.
Dear brothers and sisters, we invite you to reflect on ourselves on this Thanksgiving Day that we celebrate today. Think back to the past year. Have we not been ignorant of God's grace and passed by? Then it shouldn't. If you have received grace, you should be able to be grateful for that grace. Because gratitude is a response to the grace you have received. Recognizing and accepting grace as grace is the foundation of man. If you receive grace and do not acknowledge it, you are not human.
When you look back on the past year, do you not find grace? All things happen naturally, do you not see anything that can be called grace? It says that the spirit is still dark. The eyes of the soul must be opened. That's how you see grace.
Why are we gathered today? to thank you. Why should I thank you? Because you have been blessed. What grace have you received? What grace have you received in the past year? This may vary from person to person, but there are generally a few things to consider.
[1] Let's give thanks for the grace that saved our lives
It was thanks to the harvest that the Puritans of America gathered to celebrate their first Thanksgiving. However, if we go a little deeper, we are thankful for this because many people have died over the past year, but they thought it was God's grace that they could live without dying, and furthermore, through the harvest, they extended their lives by one year It is to thank the referee.
We're not farming right now, but as we celebrate Thanksgiving, we'll have to go back to the spirit of Thanksgiving. It means that the past one year has passed by God's grace, and the next year will be accomplished by God's grace.
Guys, let's look back on the past year. Those who think that the past year is their strength is still far from God. However, those who confess that it is God's grace that they have endured the past year are bound to give thanks.
A person who has confidence in himself and manages everything according to his own control does not need God's grace. However, those who know that they are sinners, know that they are incompetent, and know that they can do nothing without God's help are those who say, "All things are by the grace of God" and give thanks.
Everyone, please think for yourself. “I am a poor person. Are you a person who confesses, “I am a sinner”? A person who confesses his incompetence, and who confesses that everything is done by God's grace - that person gives thanks to God.
Everyone, let's give thanks to God for protecting our lives over the past year. God has given us life, and He has also provided for our needs in this world. We live because God has given us everything, food, clothing, and shelter. This is God's grace. It is an indescribably great grace of God. Let's thank God for filling our lives with grace over the past year.
Let us thank you for all our sincerity. Let us give thanks in praise and worship. Let's stand before God in spirit and in truth and give thanks and praise.
Psalm 100 says, “Call for joy to the LORD, all the earth. Serve the LORD with joy and come before him with song!” I say. “Enter his gates with thanksgiving, and his courts with praise, and give thanks to him and bless his name.”
We must become believers who thank God for His grace.
To those who give thanks, God will also give them with amazing grace. Amen!
[2] Thank you for the grace that kept your faith
What the Puritans were most grateful for, who migrated to the New World and celebrated their first Thanksgiving, was that they could live by keeping their faith. For us, this is a very difficult language to understand, but studying their situation makes sense.
The Puritans were severely persecuted for their beliefs in England. They wanted to have a clean, pure faith. In their eyes, the Anglican Church, the official religion of England, had been corrupted and too attached to power. So they tried to trust themselves well. However, their religious life did not match the state religion. As a result, they suffered severe persecution, and some people migrated to the new continent to keep their faith.
To them, faith is more precious than life. Because faith has to do with eternal life. The life we are living now is not eternal life. One day you will die. This life is not important, but the eternal life that God has promised is more important. This life that will someday die, whether you die now or die 30 years later is the same, but the important thing is eternal life. If you get this eternal life, you can live for one year and then die. So, without being persecuted, they moved to a place where they could live while affirming their faith.
There they kept the faith. And a lot of people went first. I went by faith. Where did they go? I went to the place the Lord had prepared. So, they were so grateful to be able to keep their faith.
Saints, what do we give thanks for? Are you thankful for God's grace? Amen! Among the graces, let us be thankful for the grace that allowed us to keep our faith. The Apostle Paul confesses, “I have fought the good fight, I have finished the course, I have kept the faith; from now on there is prepared for me the crown of righteousness” (2 Timothy 4:7-8). Keeping your faith is the greatest grace.
Everyone, let's be thankful that we can keep our faith. I see too many of the saints failing to keep their faith until the end after receiving grace and falling. Falling from faith is the same as falling from heaven to hell. We must be thankful that we can not fall like this, keep our faith, and receive the crown. I bless you to become a saint who gives thanks for your faith.
[3] Thank you for the grace to evangelize
We should also be thankful that we live by evangelism. Evangelism is God's work. God has entrusted this work to us humans. What an honor this is! Just thinking of saving incompetent, greedy, and sinful people like us and giving them new life is a blessing that overflows with “my cup”. [Ta] “Thank you for evangelism”
God has entrusted us with this kind of evangelism to bless us. God loves us and wants to bless us, but he cannot bless us without any reason. That is why he gave the mission of evangelism. It is a blessing to those who strive to fulfill this mission. Of course, evangelism is never easy. But it's not impossible either. So, when we try to evangelize, sweat, put our heart into it, and make sacrifices, God sees all that and gives blessings to those who evangelize. So, evangelism becomes a channel of blessing. It is God's grace that has given us this channel. We must see this evangelism as grace and give thanks.
Our church is holding an evangelism festival next Sunday. To evangelize in this way is for all of us members to enter into God's blessing together. Those who have prayed and prepared with the nativity in their hearts will enter into this blessing.
[Conclusion] Dear saints!
On Thanksgiving Day today, we definitely need to know why we are thankful. Why should I thank you? Because of God's grace. 1) It is grace that gives life and protects it. Thank you here 2) Being able to keep your faith is also grace. Thank you here 3) Being able to evangelize is also grace. Therefore, you should be grateful that you can evangelize.
When we give thanks in this way, God also blesses us through thanksgiving. He gives joy to our hearts through our gratitude. He grants you more grace. Gratitude is the seed of greater grace. I pray that you will sow these seeds of thanksgiving and become saints who bear better fruits of grace.