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Be Thankful
Psalms 100, Ephesians 5:19-20, Luke 17
November 20, 2005
The Rev. Kong Namkung

As we shared one another during the time of praise and prayer, there are many things that we are thankful to God.  However, some are complaining no matter what they have, no matter where they are, and no matter how they are doing.  There are reasons why they are complaining.

I.                   Three Things that keep us from being thankful

1.  Pride - spiritual, wealthy, racial, and so on.  In the Bible Old Testament Judges 15:14-17 Samson was proud and boasted only of his own strength.  Children are proud of their toys and PS2.  Youth are proud of their drive license. Some college students are proud of how much they can drink.  Middle age people are proud of their house and car. And grand parents are proud of their grand children.   

2.     Critical spirit or constant complain

A lady was known as an incurable grumbler constantly complained about everything.  She complained the preacher, long or short sermon, the fellowship time, other Christians, and so on.  At last her preacher thought he had found something about which she would be happy, for her farm crop was the finest for miles around.  When he met her, the preacher said with a dazzling smile, “You must be very happy, Mary.  Everyone is saying how healthy your potatoes look this year.”  “True they are pretty good, but what am I going to do when I need bad ones to feed the pigs.”  Why do people complain? It is more spiritual matter.  

·        People’s spirits were not faithful to God (Psalm 78:8, “ They should not like their ancestors, a stubborn and rebellious generation, generation whose heart was not steadfast, whose spirit was not faithful to God.”

·        We refused to obey God’s law (Psalm 78:10, “They did not keep God’s covenant, but refused to walk according to his law”)

·        We forget the miracles God had done for us (Psalm 78:11, “They forgot what he had done, and the miracles that he had shown them.”)

3.     Carelessness: The Israelites grumbled because they had no food so God gave them manna each day except the Sabbath day in Exodus 16.  Then they started to grumble because it was the same thing every day. 

II.                Three adjective that we use for being thankful

1.     Always 

2.     Constantly

3.     In all circumstances

Two men were walling in the field. They found an enraged bull, which was ready to hit them with his horn.  As these two men ran away from the bull, but the bull caught up with them. One said to the other, “John, could you pray for us?”  John said, “No, I can.”  The other said, “I thought you are a Christian.”  John said, “I never prayed in public, so I cannot.”  The other persisted John to pray then John said, “Father, Thank you very much for what we are about to take.” 

III.             Three words of thanksgiving that the Bible teaches us

1.     Thanksgiving should be expressed

Psalm 100: 4, “Enter His gates with thanksgiving and his courts with praise.”

We thank God when we

·        Worship God (1 Corinthians 14:16-17, “If you are praising God with your spirit, how can one who finds himself among those who do not understand say Amen to your thanksgiving, since he does not know what you are saying?  You may be giving thanks well enough, but the other man is not edified.”

·        Forgive others  (Psalm 30:4-5, “Sing to the Lord, you saints of his, praise his holy name, For his anger lasts only a moment, but his favor lasts a life time; weeping may remain for a night, but rejoicing comes in the morning.”)

·        Serve in His church

·        Share God’s plan of salvation. (Romans 7:23-25)

·        Reach out to hurting people

·        Offer to God your three T’s Time, Talents, and Tithe

2.     Our thanksgiving should be expanded.

·        The Blessing of life.  Count your blessings: healthy, food to eat, clothes to wear, roof over your head, a car(s), relationship with God, and so on.  

·        The burdens of life      Romans 8:18, “I consider that our present sufferings are not worth comparing to the glory that will be revealed in us.”  

Michelle was a divorced woman with three children 11, 13, and 17.  Her husband left her and her children two years ago when I met her.  She did not have a good income to support her children.  She went to community college with two years degree.  After school, she went to a job as a waitress until 11:00 PM.  Her oldest son, who was 17 years old, was in state prison, and her youngest son was born with physical infirmity.  Her life was full of burdens, but she accepted Jesus Christ and she expressed her thankfulness to God even though her life was full of burdens.

·        The Benefits of life

3.     Our thanksgiving is expected.

·        Jesus set the examples before us.  Matthew 11:25, John 11:41, “Father, I thank you that you have heard me.” Jesus said it before the tomb of Lazarus, who had been dead for four days.  When Jesus celebrated the Last Supper with his disciples, he took the bread and gave thanks to the Father.   When Jesus performed the miracle to feed 5,000 people with two fish and five loaves, he took the bread and gave thanks to the Father. 

·        A mark of a mature Christian.

Do you know Pastor Kong loves children because they are simple children?  My heart is melted when a little child says to me, “Thank you!”  God does not make human beings to be thankful in nature.  So children, if they are really young, do not know how to express their gratitude to others.  Little ones do not say “thank you.”  Likewise we Christians those who are immature Christians do not know or do not express their thankfulness to God.  Think about for a while, how much have you expressed your thankfulness to God and others?  If you have done a lot, you are a mature Christian. If you are not thankful, you still need to grow.     

·         A mark of giving Christian

The more you are thankful, the more you are a cheerful giver.  The more you are cheerful giver, the more you are thankful.  It is like the relationship between prayer and reading the scripture.  The more you prayer, the more you want to have the word of God in you.  The more you have the word of God in your heart, the more you prayer with the word.  

There was an American missionary in Korea about 100 years ago.  He built schools and hospitals while he shared good news of Jesus Christ with Korean in Seoul, Korea.  His life was full of difficulties such as different culture, language, custom, climate, clothes, and food.  With all these difficulties the American missionary translated the Bible from English to Korean verse by verse.  One day he was told his only child was very sick.  In his spiritual journal he wrote, “I had received sad news from home, and deep shadows had covered my soul.  I prayed but the darkness did not vanish.  I summoned myself to endure.  But the darkness only deepened.  Then I went to a Korean church and saw on the wall of the sanctuary, “Be Thankful” In a moment every shadow was gone, and it never came back to me again.” 

I know some of you had and have some very difficult times.  Have you prayed about it?  But the darkness is still there?  The deep shadows still cover your soul?  Have you said to yourself, “I will be O.K.” but deep in your heart the difficulties still press you down?  Then, then, why don’t you try to be thankful to God?   Be thankful!  Glory be to the Father, to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit.  Amen.

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Psalms 100

100:1 A psalm. For giving thanks.

Shout for joy to the LORD, all the earth.
2 Worship the LORD with gladness;
come before him with joyful songs.
3 Know that the LORD is God.
It is he who made us, and we are his;
we are his people, the sheep of his pasture.

4 Enter his gates with thanksgiving
and his courts with praise;
give thanks to him and praise his name.
5 For the LORD is good and his love endures forever;
his faithfulness continues through all generations.
NIV

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Ephesians 5:19-20

19 Speak to one another with psalms, hymns and spiritual songs. Sing and make music in your heart to the Lord, 20 always giving thanks to God the Father for everything, in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ.
NIV

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Luke 17

17:1 Jesus said to his disciples: "Things that cause people to sin are bound to come, but woe to that person through whom they come. 2 It would be better for him to be thrown into the sea with a millstone tied around his neck than for him to cause one of these little ones to sin. 3 So watch yourselves.
"If your brother sins, rebuke him, and if he repents, forgive him. 4 If he sins against you seven times in a day, and seven times comes back to you and says, 'I repent,' forgive him."
5 The apostles said to the Lord, "Increase our faith!"
6 He replied, "If you have faith as small as a mustard seed, you can say to this mulberry tree, 'Be uprooted and planted in the sea,' and it will obey you.
7 "Suppose one of you had a servant plowing or looking after the sheep. Would he say to the servant when he comes in from the field, 'Come along now and sit down to eat'? 8 Would he not rather say, 'Prepare my supper, get yourself ready and wait on me while I eat and drink; after that you may eat and drink'? 9 Would he thank the servant because he did what he was told to do? 10 So you also, when you have done everything you were told to do, should say, 'We are unworthy servants; we have only done our duty.'"
11 Now on his way to Jerusalem, Jesus traveled along the border between Samaria and Galilee. 12 As he was going into a village, ten men who had leprosy met him. They stood at a distance 13 and called out in a loud voice, "Jesus, Master, have pity on us!"
14 When he saw them, he said, "Go, show yourselves to the priests." And as they went, they were cleansed.
15 One of them, when he saw he was healed, came back, praising God in a loud voice. 16 He threw himself at Jesus' feet and thanked him — and he was a Samaritan.
17 Jesus asked, "Were not all ten cleansed? Where are the other nine? 18 Was no one found to return and give praise to God except this foreigner?" 19 Then he said to him, "Rise and go; your faith has made you well."
20 Once, having been asked by the Pharisees when the kingdom of God would come, Jesus replied, "The kingdom of God does not come with your careful observation, 21 nor will people say, 'Here it is,' or 'There it is,' because the kingdom of God is within you."
22 Then he said to his disciples, "The time is coming when you will long to see one of the days of the Son of Man, but you will not see it. 23 Men will tell you, 'There he is!' or 'Here he is!' Do not go running off after them. 24 For the Son of Man in his day will be like the lightning, which flashes and lights up the sky from one end to the other. 25 But first he must suffer many things and be rejected by this generation.
26 "Just as it was in the days of Noah, so also will it be in the days of the Son of Man. 27 People were eating, drinking, marrying and being given in marriage up to the day Noah entered the ark. Then the flood came and destroyed them all.
28 "It was the same in the days of Lot. People were eating and drinking, buying and selling, planting and building. 29 But the day Lot left Sodom, fire and sulfur rained down from heaven and destroyed them all.
30 "It will be just like this on the day the Son of Man is revealed. 31 On that day no one who is on the roof of his house, with his goods inside, should go down to get them. Likewise, no one in the field should go back for anything. 32 Remember Lot's wife! 33 Whoever tries to keep his life will lose it, and whoever loses his life will preserve it. 34 I tell you, on that night two people will be in one bed; one will be taken and the other left. 35 Two women will be grinding grain together; one will be taken and the other left."
37 "Where, Lord?" they asked.
He replied, "Where there is a dead body, there the vultures will gather."
NIV

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