Opening:
Rudyard Kipling was a great writer and poet whose writings we have all enjoyed. Unlike many old writers, Kipling was one of the few who had the opportunity to enjoy his success while he lived. He also made a great deal of money at his trade.
One day a newspaper reporter came to him and said, "Mr. Kipling, I just read that somebody calculated that the money you make from your writings amounts to over a hundred dollars a word." Mr. Kipling raised his eyebrows and said, "Really, I certainly wasn’t aware of that." The reporter cynically reached into his pocket pulled out a one-hundred-dollar bill gave it to Kipling and said, "Here’s a hundred-dollar bill, Mr. Kipling. Now, you give me one of your hundred-dollar words." Mr. Kipling looked at that hundred-dollar bill for a moment, took it folded it up put it in his pocket, and said, "Thanks."
Last Sunday, we learned one of God's wills: to give thanks in all circumstances. There are many ways to express our thankfulness to God.
1. Through Our Words.
- Through our prayers. We can say to God: “Thank You, God, for ….” Paul says in Ephesians 1:16, “I have not stopped giving thanks for you, remembering you in my prayers.”
- Through songs that we sing. Like King David in 1 Chronicle 29:13, “Now, our God, we give you thanks, and praise your glorious name.”
- Through our daily conversation with others. Ephesians 5:19 says, “speaking to one another with psalms, hymns, and songs from the Spirit. Sing and make music from your heart to the Lord,”
- Through telling the truth. Ephesians 4:25 says, "Therefore each of you must put off falsehood and speak truthfully to your neighbor, for we are all members of one body."
We should not give thanks to the Lord only on Thanksgiving Week or a Thanksgiving Sunday Service in November. We should express our gratitude to God through daily prayer, praise, and conversation with others!
2. Through Loving God and Others.
We have received God’s incredible love. He sent Jesus Christ to die on the cross to replace our eternal punishment on his body so that we who believe Him may be forgiven and have eternal life in heaven with Him. Of course, we are so thankful for His wonderful love. Because of that, we want to love Him back. In Matthew 22:37, Jesus said, “Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.” I want you to focus on the words “with all.” Three times Jesus said, “with all.” It shows how He wants us to love God wholeheartedly, not with half-hardheartedly love, but full love.
Only people who have received God’s love can love Him wholeheartedly. They love God because they appreciate and are so grateful for the love of God that they have received. 1 John 4:10 says, “This is love: not that we loved God, but that he loved us and sent his Son as an atoning sacrifice for our sins.” We express our gratitude to God by loving Him, who first loved us, wholeheartedly.
Since we have received God's, we should express our gratitude by loving others. 1 John 4:19 says, “We love because he first loved us.” So, we express our gratitude NOT only through words but by loving God and others.
3. Through Serving God.
Jesus said in Matthew 20:28, “Just as the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many.” Jesus, the Creator, King of kings, and Lord of lords, came to be a Servant to serve and give His life to us. What wondrous love, commitment, and humility are. People who realize and receive His love will not be quiet and do nothing. Their hearts must be moved to thank Him and do something for Him. Paul explained in 2 Corinthians 5:14-15 what motivated him to serve God, “For Christ’s love compels us, because we are convinced that one died for all, and therefore all died. And he died for all, that those who live should no longer live for themselves but for him who died for them and was raised again.”
The love of Christ that we have received should be our primary motive to serve Him through His church. People may serve the Lord for the wrong reasons, such as because it makes them feel important, or because they like to do it, or because they don’t have anything else to do, or other self-interest motives. We should serve in gratitude for what Jesus has done.
Here are some specific questions to help us evaluate our motives:
1. If no one ever knows what I am doing (giving, serving, sacrificing), would I still want to do it?
2. If there was no visible payoff for doing this, would I still do it?
3. Would I joyfully take a lesser position if God asked me to?
4. Am I doing this for the praise of others?
5. If I had to suffer for continuing what God has called me to do, would I continue to do it?
6. If others misunderstand or criticize my actions, would I stop?
7. If people whom I serve never show gratitude or appreciation, would I still do it?
8. Do I judge my success or failure based on my faithfulness to what God has asked me to do or how I compare with others?
Closing:
There was an old story about a slave. His master did not want him anymore and was about to sell him at a slave market. The slave looked so sad, and his body showed scars caused by the cruelty of his master. He wished in his heart that his new master would treat him better. A man riding a horse came and asked the master about his price. The man agreed to buy him. Then he asked the slave to follow him while he rode his horse slowly leaving the slave market. Suddenly, the master got off his horse and said to the slave: "I have bought you. Now I set you free. Go home to your family." The slave was shocked to hear what his new master just told him. He said: "Sir, I am very grateful for your kindness. But I do not know where my family is at this time. Maybe they are already dead. I want to devote myself to serving you, my kind lord." The man agreed. So the slave voluntarily devoted himself to serving his good master all his life.
We are like slaves. For years Satan enslaved us, misled us, and tried to destroy our lives (John 10:10). But, praise the Lord, our good Master, Jesus Christ, bought us not with money or gold but with His life. And now, we are free. How can we say thank you to Him? By giving our lives to serve and glorify Him. Paul, in 1 Corinthians 6:20, says, “You were bought at a price. Therefore, honor God with your bodies.” Soon, we are leaving Thanksgiving week, but we will continue to express our thankfulness through our words, our love for God and others, and our ministry.
May God help us! Happy Thanksgiving!
