Date: 11/21/04
Text: 1 Chronicles 16:8-13
Title: Give Thanks
Theme: Since gratitude is a sign of maturity, it is a quality that need to be trained and developed.
Introduction:
It is our privilege to hear these individuals sharing with us God's work in their lives. I am certain that if time permits, many more will want to share.
Gratitude is a sign of maturity. We remember how we teach our children or how we are taught to thank God for our food, and thank others for their gifts. On this thanksgiving Sunday, it behooves us to see how we can further develop and strengthen this quality in life.
I will be using different passages from both the Old and New Testaments, to help us broaden the content of our thanksgiving. Throughout the bible we see a repeated theme that we are to Give thanks to the Lord, for he is good, for his steadfast love endures forever.(Psa. 136:1). 17 Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of lights with whom there is no variation or shadow due to change. (James 1:17). Let's take a quick look at how this goodness and love is manifested.
I. We thank God for his creative work. Psalm 136:5a, 6a.
Give thanks .. 5 to him who by understanding made the heavens, ..; to him who spread out the earth above the waters, We thank God for his creation. Every day when we breath e in fresh air, when we see the mountains, the oceans, the plants; we thank God.
II. We thank God for his provision. Psalm 136:25
Give thanks to . 25 he who gives food to all flesh, We thank God not only for his creation but also for his provision s . Living in an affluent society with regular income, it is easy for us to take God's provision for granted. The scriptures remind us that our jobs, income, the room s we live in, the car s we drive are all from God. Every year, every day, from beginning to end, we are grateful to him.
III. We thank God for his Covenant. 2Chronicles 16:15-17.
15 Remember his covenant forever, the word that he commanded, for a thousand generations, 16 the covenant that he made with Abraham, .. as an everlasting covenant to Israel , This covenant is an expression of a very special relationship between God and his children. Without any of our merit, he has chosen us to be his children. In this covenant relationship, he took the initiative to love us sacrificially and unconditionally. In this covenant relationship , he poured down upon us all of his heavenly spiritual blessings. We thank God for his covenant with us.
IV. We thank God for his revelation to us. Matthew 11:25
Now let us see what we can learn from Jesus. Matthew 11:25, 25 At that time Jesus declared, "I thank you, Father, Lord of heaven and earth, that you have hidden these things from the wise and understanding and revealed them to little children;" 26 "yes, Father, for such was your gracious will. Jesus thanked God for his revelation; revealing to us the truth of his salvation. God took the initiative to reveal to us about himself and his redemption plan. Without his self-revelation, no one, none of us can know God.
Moreover, Jesus also thanks God that we, his children, with the help of the Holy Spirit can understand God's revealed truth. We thank God that he has first chosen us to be his children and enable us to understand his revelation and redemption plan. In our Christian walk, we are recipients of his grace and mercy. For this, we thank God.
V. We thank God for being called to One Body. Colossians 3:15
Jesus teaches us to be thankful for God's revelation. How about Paul's teaching? 15 And let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts, to which indeed you were called in one body. And be thankful. The moment we come to know God, we are born into his family. We are members of one body. Yes, when we come to know God, we establish a personal relationship with him. But equally important is the truth that we have entered into the body of Christ. We are family members with other Christians. We are one in Christ. Even though we may not like some of the family members, for they are very different from us. Yet we are one body. We are to thank God for this body. It ' s not how we feel about that person, but we can help each other to grow and manifest the unity that is already there. Lastly,
VI. We thank God for the growth of other believers. Romans 1:8
8 First, I thank my God through Jesus Christ for all of you, because your faith is proclaimed in all the world. In this and other epistles, we are instructed to thank God when we see others growing in their relationship with God. When we see others' increase in faith, love and hope, we give thanks to God. This implies that we're to learn to see others not in terms of what they don't have, or their shortcomings, but to focus on God's work, handiwork in their lives and to thank God for them.
Conclusion:
Last Sunday we talked about our Joy Quotient. This morning is about our TQ (Thanksgiving Quotient). Not too many of us are born with this TQ in life. It is a character trait, a quality that we have to train and develop. We learn to broaden our perspectives on life. We not only thank God for the material goods that we have received from God, but we also thank God for his creation, for his revelation, for his covenant, for the body he has given us in the Christian community, and for others ' spiritual growth and maturity. What is your TQ?