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THANKFUL HEART
Habakkuk 3:17-19;
2 Thessalonians 3:18
November 21, 2004
The Rev. Kong Namkung
As two men were walking through a field one day, they spotted an enraged bull. Instantly they darted toward the nearest fence. The storming bull followed in hot pursuit, and it was soon apparent they would not make it. Terrified, the one shouted to the other. “Put up a prayer, John we are in for it.” John answered, “I cannot. I have never made a pubic prayer in my life.” “But you must the bull is catching up to us.” “All right. I’ll say the only prayer I know, the one my father used to repeat at the table’ “O Lord, for what we are about to receive, make us truly thankful.”
Today is thanksgiving Sunday. God wants to share with you about thankful heart. First of all, I want to share with you why we should have a thankful heart.
1. Commanded. Psalm 50:14 “Offer to God a sacrifice of thanksgiving.”
As you notice all of these verses have commands. “Give, Offer, and speak.” To give thanks to God is not an option that we can choose, but it is God’s command. So, All God’s children must have thankful hearts.
The word, “Thanksgiving” is a compound word. It is combined two words, Thank and Giving. The question is to whom do we express our thankfulness?
· Should be offered in deliverance through Christ, from indwelling sin. Romans 7:23-25 “I see in my members another law at war with the law of my mind, making me captive to the law of sin that dwells in my members. Wretched man that I am! Who will rescue me from this body of death? Thanks be to God through Jesus Christ our Lord!
· Should be offered for Christ’s power and reign. Rev. 11:17, “We give you thanks, Lord God Almighty, who are and who were, for you have taken your great power and begun to reign.”
·
Should be offered for the
conversion of others. Romans 6:17
“”Thanks be to God that you, having once been slaves of sin, have become
obedient from the heart the form of teaching to which you were entrusted.”
A grandmother took her three year old granddaughter, Denise, to their church’s thanksgiving celebration. Cans and boxes of food and pumpkins were stacked around the altar, and her grandmother explained to Denise that the food was for poor people who did not have enough to eat. When the choir began to process toward the altar, Denise cried out, “Look grandma, here come the poor people now!”
· Should be offered for faith exhibited by others. Romans 1:8; 2 Thes. 1:3
· Should be offered for love exhibited by others. 2 Thes. 1:3
There was a female married writer. She needed her own time for meditation and reflection for profound insights and understanding of life. However, she could not find the time because she had 3 children. To take care of 3 children is a demanding job. She could not write swiftly because of children. The writer prayed to God that she might have her own peaceful time for finishing her writing. A few days after her prayers she was sick and was hospitalized for 10 days. She was free from children’s noise and requests. However, she was tied of where she was even though she was free from noise. She began to miss her husband and her children. She realized that her husband and her children were a kind of mediator to push her to write more. To be sick for her was not punishment from God, but the opportunity to be thankful for her husband and her children, and God.
· Should be offered for the grace bestowed on others. 1 Cor. 1:4; Phil. 1:3-5; Col. 1:3-6]
3. Thankful for God’s provisions
Should be offered before taking food. John 6:11,”Jesus took the breads and when he ahd given thanks.” Acts 27:35
Should be offered for the supply of our bodily wants. Romans 14:6-7; 1 Tim. 4:3-4
4. Thankfulness to all and any situations
In all areas of life. §Psalm 138:1-3, “I give you thanks, O Lord, with my whole heart; before the gods I sing your praise; I bow down toward your holy temple and give thanks to your name for your steadfast love and your faithfulness; for you have exalted your name and your ward above everything. On the day I called, you answered me, you increased my strength of my soul.”
Should be offered always. Ephes. 1:16; Ephes. 5:20; 1 Thes. 1:2
Matthew Henry had his wallet stolen one day. On that night he wrote this, “I thank God that I was never stone before. I thank God that someone stole my wallet but he cannot steal my life. Even though he stole my wallet, it was not much so I thank God for that. I also thank God that I do not steal from someone, but I was stolen by someone.”
In today’s the Old Testament lesson, Habakkuk 3:17 says, “Though the fig tree does not blossom, and no fruit is on the vines. Though the produce of the olive fails, and the fields yield no food, though the flock is cut off from the fold and there is no herd in the stalls, yet I will rejoice in the Lord, I will exult in the God of my salvation.” I contextualize this passage in the 21st century Americans. “Though I do not have a good retirement plan, and no good social security, Though I fail to invest my finance on stocks and bonds, Though I do not have a large amount of money in my saving account, Though I do not have a large amount of money in my checking account, Yet I will rejoice in the lord, I will exult in the God of my salvation.”
What should we do with our thankfulness?
We always need to see Jesus. With Jesus’ example we understand what we are going to do with out thankfulness.
Jesus set an example for thankfulness.
Matthew 11:25, “I thank you, Father, Lord of heaven and earth, because you have hidden these things from the wise and the intelligent and have revealed them to infants.
Matthew 26:27, “Then Jesus took a cup and after giving thanks he gave it to his disciples.”
John 11:41, “Jesus looked upward and said, “Father, I thank you for having hear me.”
• developing an attitude of. §Numbers 11:4-6; §Numbers 31:48-50
• should be continuous part of life. §1 Chron. 16:4; §Psalm 92:1-2
• should move us to action. §Ephes. 2:8-1
1. Should always accompany prayer. Neh. 11:17; Phil. 4:6; Col. 4:2
2. Should always accompany praise. Psalm 92:1; Hebrews 13:15
3. Should be offered in private worship. Daniel 6:10, Psalm 35:18
4. Should be offered in community worship.
According to Annie Dillard, who is a North Carolinian and the author of For the Time Being, “When a person arrives in the world as a baby, his hands are clenched as though to say, “Everything is mine, I will inherit it all.” When he departs from the world, his hands are open, as though to say, “I have acquired nothing from the world.” So what are we going to do while we are living here on earth? What does God want you to be and to do?
At the end of the WW2, there were many memorial services for soldiers who died during the war at churches in this country. Many Christians offered memorial offering for their own spouses, children, relatives, and friends. A couple went to a church. The wife said, “We need to offer our memorial offering to God.” The husband said, “What do you mean? Our son is still alive.” The wife said, “That is right! That is my point. We need to express our thanks to God because God protected our son from the war. So we thank God for God’s protection.” The husband agreed with his wife and bowed down and prayed, saying, “O my heavenly Father, thank you for all the blessings that you have given to our family, above all of these blessing, I thank you for giving me a thankful heart for you.”
Habakkuk
3:17-19
17 Though the fig tree does not bud
and there are no grapes on the vines,
though the olive crop fails
and the fields produce no food,
though there are no sheep in the pen
and no cattle in the stalls,
18 yet I will rejoice in the LORD,
I will be joyful in God my Savior.
19 The Sovereign LORD is my strength;
he makes my feet like the feet of a deer,
he enables me to go on the heights.
For the director of music. On my stringed instruments.
NIV
2 Thessalonians 3:18
18 The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you all.
NIV
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