A Thankful Heart
Notes
Transcript
Introduction
Introduction
What is thankfulness? Is it a feeling? An action?
What does it mean to “give thanks”?
Merriam Webster: “acknowledgment of having received something good from another”
Recognition for where something has come from.
Appreciation, gratitude, gratefulness.
For the Christian, a thankful heart is a heart of worship:
worth-ship
Appreciation to God because we recognize who He is and what He’s done
This is something I’ve been meditating on for a while. What does it mean to be truly thankful? Am I a thankful person? Husband, father, pastor, friend.
How does thankfulness affect us?
Jesus Was Thankful
Jesus Was Thankful
And he took a cup, and when he had given thanks he said, “Take this, and divide it among yourselves. For I tell you that from now on I will not drink of the fruit of the vine until the kingdom of God comes.” And he took bread, and when he had given thanks, he broke it and gave it to them, saying, “This is my body, which is given for you. Do this in remembrance of me.”
Communion: eucharist
Jesus feeds the 5000: In Galilee by the Sea of Tiberias (Sea of Galilee)
Jesus then took the loaves, and when he had given thanks, he distributed them to those who were seated. So also the fish, as much as they wanted.
Jesus feeds the multitude bread and fish - God gives the multitude manna and quail in the wilderness:
Just as the Israelites had trouble trusting God, so do the disciples
God provides
Sinful people do not give thanks:
Sinful people do not give thanks:
For although they knew God, they did not honor him as God or give thanks to him, but they became futile in their thinking, and their foolish hearts were darkened.
We can be hypocritical and sinful in our thanksgiving:
We can be hypocritical and sinful in our thanksgiving:
The Pharisee, standing by himself, prayed thus: ‘God, I thank you that I am not like other men, extortioners, unjust, adulterers, or even like this tax collector. I fast twice a week; I give tithes of all that I get.’ But the tax collector, standing far off, would not even lift up his eyes to heaven, but beat his breast, saying, ‘God, be merciful to me, a sinner!’
Giving Thanks is an essential part of the Christian walk: It is recognition of who God is and what He has done.
Love filled appreciation.
We heard that from Shirley last Sunday.
The Text
The Text
Put on then, as God’s chosen ones, holy and beloved, compassionate hearts, kindness, humility, meekness, and patience, 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. And above all these put on love, which binds everything together in perfect harmony.
We are the called - we have heard the voice of the Good Shepherd and have been drawn to Him.
My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me. I give them eternal life, and they will never perish, and no one will snatch them out of my hand.
We are holy and beloved
We are made holy by the blood of Christ who imputed His holiness to us and imputed our sinfulness upon Himself
Therefore, we are ambassadors for Christ, God making his appeal through us. We implore you on behalf of Christ, be reconciled to God. For our sake he made him to be sin who knew no sin, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God.
We are holy and beloved
We are so very loved by God
“For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life.
Because we are “God’s chosen ones, holy and beloved”, he has given us new hearts.
For this is the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel
after those days, declares the Lord:
I will put my laws into their minds,
and write them on their hearts,
and I will be their God,
and they shall be my people.
And they shall not teach, each one his neighbor
and each one his brother, saying, ‘Know the Lord,’
for they shall all know me,
from the least of them to the greatest.
For I will be merciful toward their iniquities,
and I will remember their sins no more.”
God is a promise-keeping God who made a promise and fulfills His promise
Who is doing the work here?
We cannot do the work - only a work of God
He has given you a new heart
And what does this new heart look like?
Put on then, as God’s chosen ones, holy and beloved, compassionate hearts, kindness, humility, meekness, and patience, 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. And above all these put on love, which binds everything together in perfect harmony.
There’s an indicative - God commands us to “put on” or become the new person.
Take hold of what God has done for you through Christ
compassionate hearts, kindness, humility, meekness, and patience
Sounds a lot like the fruit of the Spirit, right?
But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control; against such things there is no law.
The Christian life is a Spirit-filled life
What else does God tell us what this new life looks like?
And let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts, to which indeed you were called in one body. And be thankful. Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly, teaching and admonishing one another in all wisdom, singing psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, with thankfulness in your hearts to God. And whatever you do, in word or deed, do everything in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him.
The peace of Christ, to which you were called in one body
We have peace with God
We have unity with Christ and we have unity with one another
And be thankful: our first command to be thankful
A Spirit-led life — a Spirit-transformed heart is a thankful heart.
A person that recognizes what God has done, and sees the new-heart-transformation
I see that in a lot of you. And I wish I saw it more in myself…
Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly…
God’s word is one of the means by which the transformation takes place
We are seeking God’s will
His living word becomes alive in us
Let it “dwell in you richly”
Imbibe it, drink it, soak it in
Let it “teach” you and help one another
“Singing songs and hymns and spiritual songs, with thankfulness in your hearts to God.”
Our second command to be thankful
As we sing, we remember who we’re singing to
A thankful heart is a heart of worship
“And whatever you do…”
A life that has been ransomed and transformed by the gospel is a life of worship
Everything you do, do in thankfulness to God
Without God, you are unable
The gifts you have been given are gifts from God
For who sees anything different in you? What do you have that you did not receive? If then you received it, why do you boast as if you did not receive it?
Paul is talking about the wisdom and knowledge of God, but the principal remains the same. All that we have is a gift from God.
Un-thankfulness
Un-thankfulness
Just like the disgruntled Israelites in the wilderness. (Ex 16)
We remember the fish we ate in Egypt that cost nothing, the cucumbers, the melons, the leeks, the onions, and the garlic.
Longing to return to what God had rescued them from!
The Sin of Dissatisfaction
The Sin of Dissatisfaction
For the Christian, complaint and dissatisfaction of your circumstances are sinful. It is a reflection of your heart towards God.
Bitterness/ungratefulness/un-thankfulness is like an ember, a cola from a fire that glows in our heart, in our belly. And our sinful nature blows on it - gently at first, but then if we allow it to flicker, it fans the flames and it consumes the heart.
We might find that we like that feeling. We make up excuses and feel justified in our resentment. We might seek out confirmation from others. Misery loves company. Hate fuels hate.
Thankfulness is a weapon against a sinful heart. It flips the heart right-side up when it is upside-down.
“Gratitude is a vaccine, an antitoxin, and an antiseptic.” John Henry Jowett
“Gratitude is a vaccine, an antitoxin, and an antiseptic.” John Henry Jowett
“Gratitude acts like a vaccine that prevents the invasion of a discouraged spirit, serves as an antitoxin against cynicism and criticism, and makes it impossible to be cynical while being thankful.”
Three things I suggest:
Three things I suggest:
Seek out thankfulness:
In a moment of ungratefulness, seek out thankfulness. Find something to be thankful for in this situation.
2. Be thankful in all circumstances:
See that no one repays anyone evil for evil, but always seek to do good to one another and to everyone. Rejoice always, pray without ceasing, give thanks in all circumstances; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you.
Be thankful in the good times as well as the bad. The Lord gives and He takes away. Be thankful for what you have been given for you deserve much less than you receive.
3. Don’t Forget:
Don’t let yourself forget what God has done for you. Like the Israelites who complained in the wilderness.
I will give thanks to the Lord with my whole heart;
I will recount all of your wonderful deeds.
Summary:
Summary:
Because of God’s love for us, poured out on us through Christ’s willingness to die for us, we are counted as holy before God, and He is making us holy by fulfilling His promise to give us transformed hearts - by placing His Spirit within us - and He tells us what this looks like. So we can recognize it and take hold of this promise.
God wants us to recognize that this transformed life is a gift from Him. His desire is that we return the love that He has for us. He desires our good. He knows what is best for us. He desires our eternal good - eternal joy.
There’s joy in giving thanks. A gift that is better to give than to receive.
Give Thanks: Share
Give Thanks: Share
Share what we are thankful to God for.
