Grateful Heart, Grateful Worship

Intro

Good morning and welcome again to Iglesia Bautista Horeb’s English Service to everyone here and online. This week I am continuing in the theme of thankfulness. Thankfulness and gratitude are at the core of our lives as believers. Did you know that this is the reason we sing? This is the reason we worship and more specifically, the reason we gather to worship. Gratefulness, thankfulness, worship. But it’s not natural to us.

Thankfulness and Gratefulness

One of the questions I asked myself was, ”what is the difference between gratefulness and Thankfulness?” As definitions go, Thankfulness involves recognizing and expressing gratitude for specific actions, favors, or gifts received. Thankfulness is often directed toward someone who has done something positive or beneficial.

Gratefulness tends to convey a more profound and enduring sense of gratitude. It may encompass a broader outlook, acknowledging the positive aspects of life, even beyond specific actions or gifts.

One deals with recognition and action and the other is an attitude or a life response. I liken it to the similarities between happiness and Joy. Thankfulness, like happiness, is a response to something specific. Gratitude, like Joy, is rooted in something deeper.(parable of two debtors matthew 18:23-25)

I don’t know how many times I’ve heard someone say, that’s cool but; or thank you but; or dang! you should’ve done this or me avieras traido esto. Or you didn’t get me this too? the list of ungrateful discontentment goes on. Some might say they’re just playing, but as the saying goes, Jokes are half truth. I know I’ve thought it many times and maybe even said it. Have you?

This is why the season of thanksgiving is so short lived. We’re reflective all through the month til that night then we go out and kill each other for door buster deals. I thank God we’ve seen less of that in recent years with the advent of cyber deals and early black Friday stuff. It was like saying thank you for all I have, but let me get some more.

Gratefulness and thankfulness are a learned reactions to grace and mercy. I’ve had to teach my kid to be grateful, not to be selfish, work is still in progress, as is for all of us. We’ve seen so many times in the old and new testament where we are being exhorted to be thankful or grateful.

Psalm 100:4 ESV

Enter his gates with thanksgiving, and his courts with praise! Give thanks to him; bless his name!

1 Chronicles 16:34 ESV

Oh give thanks to the Lord, for he is good; for his steadfast love endures forever!

Jonah 2:9 ESV

But I with the voice of thanksgiving will sacrifice to you; what I have vowed I will pay. Salvation belongs to the Lord!”

1 Thessalonians 5:16–18 ESV

Rejoice always, pray without ceasing, give thanks in all circumstances; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you.

Colossians 3:15 ESV

And let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts, to which indeed you were called in one body. And be thankful.

Ephesians 5:20 ESV

giving thanks always and for everything to God the Father in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ,

The list literally goes on! And if there is a pattern to be picked out from my condensed list and also from the full list of verses it’s this. A grateful heart leads to grateful worship.

The Ungrateful Host

Luke 7:36–50 ESV

One of the Pharisees asked him to eat with him, and he went into the Pharisee’s house and reclined at table. And behold, a woman of the city, who was a sinner, when she learned that he was reclining at table in the Pharisee’s house, brought an alabaster flask of ointment, and standing behind him at his feet, weeping, she began to wet his feet with her tears and wiped them with the hair of her head and kissed his feet and anointed them with the ointment. Now when the Pharisee who had invited him saw this, he said to himself, “If this man were a prophet, he would have known who and what sort of woman this is who is touching him, for she is a sinner.” And Jesus answering said to him, “Simon, I have something to say to you.” And he answered, “Say it, Teacher.” “A certain moneylender had two debtors. One owed five hundred denarii, and the other fifty. When they could not pay, he cancelled the debt of both. Now which of them will love him more?” Simon answered, “The one, I suppose, for whom he cancelled the larger debt.” And he said to him, “You have judged rightly.” Then turning toward the woman he said to Simon, “Do you see this woman? I entered your house; you gave me no water for my feet, but she has wet my feet with her tears and wiped them with her hair. You gave me no kiss, but from the time I came in she has not ceased to kiss my feet. You did not anoint my head with oil, but she has anointed my feet with ointment. Therefore I tell you, her sins, which are many, are forgiven—for she loved much. But he who is forgiven little, loves little.” And he said to her, “Your sins are forgiven.” Then those who were at table with him began to say among themselves, “Who is this, who even forgives sins?” And he said to the woman, “Your faith has saved you; go in peace.”

When we look at our text though we see the difference between someone who doesn’t see their need and can’t be thankful, much less grateful. This ungrateful host believes himself even beyond the teachings of Jesus. and This is where we see Holy Spirit driven self-awareness bring us to the place of gratitude.

So if you had someone over for dinner you would do a seating arrangement, it was just for weddings and sticking together the relatives you didn’t want there, but there was intentionality in the seating arrangement. The seat of honor was typically to the left of the host, they would also wash everyone’s feet and anoint their heads and give a kiss of greeting and honor. But here we see Jesus receives none of the customary welcoming actions.

something real quick that I learned was that it was customary that the call to dinner was an open invitation. Hosting was not limited to specific occasions. The culture encouraged an open-door policy where strangers and travelers might be welcomed. So it wasn’t necessarily strange to have seen this “sinful woman” enter their house as there must’ve been a crowd with them to begin with.

Something that this pharisee’s attitude reminds me of is our too cool attitude. I sometimes I can be like that, down playing something culturally relevant and honestly being dismissive of someone’s excitement, because I want to feel better than. I know I do it at work. This week I had the opportunity to go to GigaFactory in Texas and work on some of the earliest builds of Cybertruck. One of my coworkers asked me if I was excited and I totally played it off, but it was honestly a great opportunity learn something new and network with some great people from different service centers. But I totally down played it. Side note, cybertruck is a bit weird looking but so cool at the same time!

Any who, sometimes we downplay even God’s effect on our lives. Sometimes we show up to worship with that attitude, “if he shows he shows, if the preacher captures my attention then maybe I’ll care, if the worship team had a drummer maybe I’d be able to worship, meh.”

Is that our attitude when we come to church? Or are we joyfully expectant that God is here? Knowing that where two or more are gathered, christ is here? That as we hear God’s word preached, that in at least the reading of the scripture you’re hearing the Voice of God? Are you coming to church with gratitude and thankfulness? Or are you too cool for school?

Our Response

When we read the bible we have to ask the question is descriptive or is this prescriptive? Does describe an even or does it prescribe obedience to something? Are we to listen and learn or Listen, learn and do?

This is a set of verses that I believe hits at both points but not as it’s explicitly expressed here. watcha

Luke 7:44–47 ESV

Then turning toward the woman he said to Simon, “Do you see this woman? I entered your house; you gave me no water for my feet, but she has wet my feet with her tears and wiped them with her hair. You gave me no kiss, but from the time I came in she has not ceased to kiss my feet. You did not anoint my head with oil, but she has anointed my feet with ointment. Therefore I tell you, her sins, which are many, are forgiven—for she loved much. But he who is forgiven little, loves little.”

This should be us if not in action in disposition. In attitude. Our gratefulness for all Jesus has done and all that we’ve been forgiven of should lead us to a gratitude that expresses itself in an outpouring of thankfulness. This is essentially called turning our theology into doxology. Doxologies serve as a way for believers to express adoration and praise to God, acknowledging His greatness and eternal nature. They are found in various forms throughout the Bible, particularly in the Psalms and in the writings of the New Testament. Theology to Doxology, What we know about God and what he’s done into songs about God.

Tim keller says this: “Our redemption through Christ's sacrifice is the foundation of our gratitude."

A grateful heart will lead us to grateful worship, even in the heaviest of times. It’s biblical to question a situation and remember God’s faithfulness and worship.

Psalm 13 ESV

To the choirmaster. A Psalm of David. How long, O Lord? Will you forget me forever? How long will you hide your face from me? How long must I take counsel in my soul and have sorrow in my heart all the day? How long shall my enemy be exalted over me? Consider and answer me, O Lord my God; light up my eyes, lest I sleep the sleep of death, lest my enemy say, “I have prevailed over him,” lest my foes rejoice because I am shaken. But I have trusted in your steadfast love; my heart shall rejoice in your salvation. I will sing to the Lord, because he has dealt bountifully with me.

In this psalm, David begins with a lament, expressing his feelings of abandonment and distress. He then petitions God for help and expresses trust in God's unfailing love. Finally, he ends the psalm with a declaration of gratefulness, committing to sing praises to the Lord for His goodness. This progression from lament to trust and ultimately to gratitude is a common structure in many psalms of lament in the Bible.

Question in the midst of the pain and remember God’s faithfulness at the same time. I want to encourage you to talk to god in your anger and pain, in your guilt and shame. There’s something I heard recently that was super deep. If there is something we should learn from the story of Job it’s this, he never stopped talking to God.

There’s a song the spanish team sings named Alaba a dios and the chorus says this:

Oh, alaba Simplemente alaba Estás llorando, alaba En la prueba, alaba Estás sufriendo, alaba No importa, alaba Tu alabanza, Él escuchará

Toxic positivity?

Brothers and sisters, we should see the sinful woman in this story and be encouraged to worship and not be too cool to recognize that our greatest need has been filled. That it’s okay and encouraged to show up to church excited to sing, pray, confess and hear what God has done for us. Hear that we, yes you, me, all of us have been forgiven much, that we should love much, forgive much and worship much.

If you have been someone that doesn’t forgive easy or ask for forgiveness easy remember what colossians says.

Colossians 3:13 ESV

bearing with one another and, if one has a complaint against another, forgiving each other; as the Lord has forgiven you, so you also must forgive.

This obedience to love well is also worship! Whaaaaaa? as the minions say. We often think that worship pertains to singing here on sundays, but worship also encompasses that.

Brothers and sisters we are to forgive much because we have been forgiven much, we are to love much because we have been loved much.

Spurgeon:"True thankfulness is revealed in our worship, acknowledging God's grace."

Remember you are loved much and worship! Sing and clap unto God. Sing and clap unto the God who has forgiven us much. Forgive and love much because we are. And please don’t be too cool for school, cause you’re not.

I want us to sing the doxology together.

Praise God from whom all blessing flow.

Praise him all creatures here below.

Praise him above ye heavenly host.

Praise father son and holy ghost.