SIMPLY THANKFUL
BIBLE PASSAGE: LUKE 4:16-30; 2 CORINTHIANS 4:15
Picture taken from Google
Lesson Prepared by: Krisha of
Solomon’s Wisdom FB page
DECEMBER 05, 2021
MEMORY VERSE
For all things are for your sakes, that the abundant
grace might through the thanksgiving of many redound to the glory of God.
2 CORINTHIANS 4:15
INTRODUCTION:
BE
THANKFUL FOR LIFE
Even though I
clutch my blankets and groan when the alarm rings each morning, thank you,
Lord, that I can hear. There are those who are deaf.
Even though I
keep my eyes tightly closed against the morning light as long as possible,
thank you, Lord, that I can see. There are many who are blind.
Even though I
huddle in my bed and put off the physical effort of rising, thank you, Lord,
that I have the strength to rise. There are many who are bedfast.
Even though
the first hour of my day is hectic, when socks are lost, toast is burned,
tempers are short, thank you, Lord, for my family. There are many who are
lonely.
Even though
our table never looks like the pictures in the magazines and the menu is at
times unbalanced. Thank you, Lord, for the food we have. There are many who are
hungry.
Even though
the routine of my job is often monotonous, thank you, Lord, for the opportunity
to work. There are many who have no work.
Thank you,
Lord, for the gift of life.
Source: Unknown
LESSON OUTLINE:
1. BE AWARE OF THE DANGER OF FAMILIARITY
(LUKE 4:16-30; MARK 6:1-4)
Luke 4:24, “And he
said, Verily I say unto you, No prophet is accepted in his own country.”
Mark 6:4, “But
Jesus, said unto them, A prophet is not without honour, but in his own country,
and among his own kin, and in his own house.”
There is a saying, “Familiarity Breeds Contempt” and what
does this mean?
-
It means that if you know someone or something very well, you can easily become bored with them and stop treating them with respect.
-
The idioms mean knowing too much about something or someone
can eventually lead you to feel resentment towards that specific thing or
person.
We know our occasion this month, commemorating Christ’s Birth, right?
Sometimes because of the knowledge you have in your mind and all the lessons
you’ve heard there’s a tendency that the impact of commemorating become less to
you; there’s no big impact to you anymore.
There’s a testimony of a pastor and this is what he says, “There is something about familiarity
breeding contempt. It is funny, but I used to minister in a certain
church with a wide variety of roles. Today I’ve been gone from there for
twenty years, yet it seems the longer I’m gone, the more I’m esteemed.
People say positive things about the Lord’s work through me there, and
honestly, I have no idea what they are talking about. It is almost like
the longer I am away, the more impact I had. I don’t remember enjoying
any of that honor or esteem when I was actually there on staff–in fact, quite
the opposite.”
This might be one of the reasons why some of us become thankful to
others but to our family is not. We seldom say thank you and reply to our
family’s messages; the sadder thing some ignore and even try to “seen” their
messages. Which is a good reminder to all of us–sometimes we don’t appreciate
what we have till it’s gone. We should be appreciative to our family, and church
leaders & members who serve faithfully. A disciple, an RMG leader, a
teacher, a parent, a church family–because we know people and are familiar with
them, it’s easy for us to take them for granted. But it is more than
appreciation of what God has given you. Also, all of us battle with this
drift in our relationship with Christ.
Our passionate first love
drifts to second or third love
Our zeal for His service
begins to cruise into–only when it’s convenient
Our hunger for His Word
slows to a “once-a-week” meal
Our intimate relationship
transitions to only prayers around food
Our giving first to His
church drops to only what I have left over
Have you allowed your familiarity with Christ and His Word to become
complacent, indifferent or worse–contemptible? Fire up today. For
as Jesus begins to minister in Nazareth, we witness an awesome reaction
transition quickly to unbelief.
Luke 4:24, “And he
said, Verily I say unto you, No prophet is accepted in his own country.”
Mark 6:4, “But
Jesus, said unto them, A prophet is not without honour, but in his own country,
and among his own kin, and in his own house.”
Tagalog: “…Tandaan
nyo walang propetang kinikilala sa kanyang sariling bayan.”
“…Ang propeta’y iginagalang ng lahat, liban lamang ng kanyang
mga kababayan, mga kamag-anak at mga kasambahay.”
“A prophet is not without honor, except in his own
country.” This is Christ’s indictment against the people of his own place who,
instead of being amazed and thankful for having among them not only a very
special person but the very son of God, found Christ too much for them, and
were in fact scandalized by him.
This is what familiarity is all about and what it
produces. As proverb would put it, familiarity breeds contempt. It is the state of getting too accustomed
to God and to his goodness such that we would not feel the urge anymore to
thank and praise him for everything that we have and enjoy, since all these
things come from him.
It is a very common danger to us and is at bottom a
result of letting simply our senses, feelings and our other ways of purely
human estimation to guide us rather than our faith, and its necessary
companions of hope and charity.
2. GIVING OF THANKS IS THE WILL OF GOD (1
THESS.5:18; 1 TIMOTHY 4:4)
In every thing give thanks: for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus
concerning you.
For every creature of God is good, and nothing to be refused, if it be
received with thanksgiving:
Tagalog
(1 Timothy 4:4): Ang lahat
ng nilikha ng Diyos ay mabuti, at walang dapat ipalagay na masama. Lahat at
dapat tanggaping may pasasalamat.
From the verse itself in 1
Thessalonians 5:18, we can say that giving of thanks is the will of God. After each one of these exhortations in verses 16 and 18 – rejoice
always, pray without ceasing, in everything give thanks –
we are told to do this
because it is the will of God. The thought isn’t “this is God’s will, so you must do it.” The thought is rather “this is God’s
will, so you can do it.” It isn’t easy
to rejoice always, pray without ceasing, and in everything
give thanks, but
we can do it because it is God’s will.
Another thing is we should give
thanks in everything. As difficulties pile on, it can be easy to look around
and see nothing good, sinking into despair, perpetual anger, and an inability
to feel gratitude. The Bible does not pretend there is no suffering, with the
Book of Ecclesiastes acknowledged there will be, “a time to kill … a time to
break down … a time to weep … a time to mourn” (Ecclesiastes
3:3-4).
In order to be thankful at all
times it is important to have sources of joy, something to always be grateful
for, and reminders to turn to those sources of joy and good things when times
are hard.
What should be the Christian’s
ultimate source of joy? To get through loss, suffering, and chaotic times, it
would need to be something permanent and unchanging. Jesus prayed to His
Father, “And now come I to Thee;, and
these things I speak in the world, that they may have my joy fulfilled in
themselves” (John 17:13).
He wants those who love Him to have His joy, and to be thankful for those
things which bring joy.
Jesus had joy when:
- A sinner repented and became
saved: Luke 15
- When the Father’s will is
done: Luke
10:20-24
- When thinking about eternity
together John
16:20-22
The Bible also encourages
believers to be thankful for:
- Jesus’ everlasting
words: John 17:3
- God’s unchanging nature: Psalm
102:27
- Salvation through Jesus’ death
and resurrection: 1
Corinthians 15:57
- The eternal home in Heaven: Hebrews
12:28
Ultimately, the Bible encourages believers to focus on eternal things. It is important to thank God for earthly
blessings, but in order to always be thankful, there must be things to thank
God for that do not rust, decay, or disappear. The way to always give
thanks is to remember to thank God for His eternal gifts and promises.
When the Bible says to give
thanks in all things, it asks people to thank God for blessings both visible
and invisible. When He blesses, thank Him, and thank Him for the things unseen
in which Christians place their hope
Of course, the verse does not
mean that every second of everyday Christians should be muttering “thank you
God” under their breath. Instead, it encourages an attitude adjustment and a
re-focusing of priorities. Thanking God for blessings through praise and prayer
is the first step, and the second is by turning away from earthly wants and
desires, and focusing on the future promises that will matter forever, that are
guaranteed by the Word of God, so there is always something to thank Him for,
even if current circumstances are difficult (mention 1 Timothy 4:4).
3. CHRISTIANS ARE EXPECTED TO BE MORE
THANKFUL (2 CORINTHIANS 4:15)
“For all things are for your sakes, that the
abundant grace might through the thanksgiving of many redound to the glory of
God.”
Tagalog: “Ang lahat ng pagtitiis ko ay sa kapakanan
ninyo upang sa pagdami ng mga
nakatatanggap ng mga kaloob ng Diyos, lalo lamang dumami ang
magpapasalamat at magpupuri sa kanya.”
Paul
reminds the Christians in Corinth again of one of his primary motivations for
continuing to endure so much suffering. He tolerates great hardship in order to
shine the light of Christ to more and more people. In short, he does it for
their sake and, presumably, for the sake of others like them.
Some in Corinth may have questioned why Paul suffered so much if he was truly
an apostle of Jesus and a servant of God. Shouldn't God prevent his trusted
servant from experiencing so much pain? Paul's reply has been that God does not
spare his servants from suffering, but that God provides for them through their
suffering. More, God will raise them from the dead if their suffering should
lead to that. Despite what many people think, faithfulness to God does not
protect a person from all earthly difficulty.
Now Paul declares that this service to the Corinthians is worth it, in part,
because as more people believe in Jesus, more people will receive God's grace.
The more people who receive God's grace, the more people who will give thanks
to God. More and more glory will be brought to God. Paul is willing to endure
anything, enabled by God's power, to achieve this outcome.
CONCLUSION:
A blind boy sat on the steps of a building with a hat by his feet.
He held up a sign which said: “I am blind, please help.”
There were only a few coins in the hat.
A man was walking by. He took a few coins from his pocket and dropped
them into the hat. He then took the sign, turned it around, and wrote
some words. He put the sign back so that everyone who walked by would see the
new words.
Soon the hat began to fill up. A lot more people were giving money to
the blind boy. That afternoon the man who had changed the sign came to
see how things were.
The boy recognized his footsteps and asked, “Were you the one who
changed my sign this morning? What did you write?”
The man said, “I only wrote the truth. I said what you said but in
a different way.” I wrote: “Today is a beautiful day but I cannot see it.”
Both signs told people that the boy was blind. But the first sign simply
said the boy was blind. The second sign told people that they were so lucky
that they were not blind. Should we be surprised that the second sign was more
effective?
Moral of the Story: Be thankful for what you have. Be creative. Be
innovative. Think differently and positively. When life gives you 100 reasons to cry, show life that you have 1000 reasons to smile. Face your past
without regret. Handle your present with confidence. Prepare for the
future without fear. Keep the faith and drop the fear.
The most beautiful thing is to see a person smiling. And even more
beautiful, is knowing that you are the reason behind it!
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Author:
Unknown
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