1 Saturday, February 18, 2016 2017 Suthern Califrnia Grace Cnference Tpic: Rejice Evermre 1 Thes. 5:16, Phil. 3:1; 4:4. This study will fcus n the place where we as believers are t find true lasting jy and rejicing. Intrductin If yu lk at yur prgram yu will see that I am scheduled t teach n the tpic f thanksgiving tmrrw mrning at 9:30. In my studies, I have becme cnvinced that thanksgiving and jy are inseparably linked. Thanksgiving and gratitude are a prerequisite fr jy and rejicing. Therefre, I have elected t develp bth tpics arund the central theme f thanksgiving. In rder t accmplish ur purpse this mrning I wuld like t cnsider the fllwing pints: Define ur Terms The Ungrateful Heart The Thankful Heart Thanksgiving: the Seedbed f Jy Defining ur Terms T get started, we need t acknwledge that there is a cluster f different wrds in the bible assciated with thanksgiving: thank, thanks, thanked, thankful, thankfulness, thanksgiving, thankwrthy, and unthankful. Thank T express gratitude fr a favr; t make acknwledgments t ne fr kindness bestwed. Thanks Expressin f gratitude; an acknwledgment made t express a sense f favr r kindness received. Gratitude is the feeling r sentiment excited by kindness; thanks, are the expressin f that sentiment. When defined using Webster s 1828 Dictinary each f the English wrds listed abve were assciated with ntin f gratitude. Gratitude An emtin f the heart, excited by a favr r benefit received; a sentiment f kindness r gd will twards a benefactr; thankfulness. Gratitude is an agreeable emtin, cnsisting in r accmpanied with gd will t a benefactr, and a dispsitin t make a suitable return f benefits r services, r when n return can be made, with a desire t see the benefactr prsperus and happy. Gratitude is a virtue f the highest Pastr Bryan Rss
2 excellence, as it implies a feeling and generus heart, and a prper sense f duty. (Webster s 1828) S if thankfulness and thanksgiving are the same thing then unthankfulness and ingratitude wuld als g tgether. The Unthankful Heart The wrd unthankful appears 2 times in 2 verses in the KJB. Each time the wrd appears there is a clear cnnectin between ingratitude and evil. Luke 6:35 ntice the cnnectin between the unthankful and the evil that is made in this verse. The fundamental prblem with smene wh is evil is that they are unthankful. Matthew 5:44-45 Unthankful Nt thankful; ungrateful; nt making acknwledgments fr gd received. (Webster s 1828) II Timthy 3:2 in his final epistle, at the end f his life Paul tells Timthy what the last days f the dispensatin f grace are ging t lk like. Verses 2-7 describe the cnditin f mankind during that time. Hw wuld yu describe peple that manifest the attitudes and actins described in the passage? I wuld describe them as evil. Accrding t verse 2 they are unthankful r in a state f unthankfulness. Unthankfulness-- Neglect r missin f acknwledgment fr gd received; want f a sense f kindness r benefits; ingratitude. Immderate favrs breed first unthankfulness, and afterwards hate. An inability t be thankful leads t hatred twards the ne bestwing kind benefits. Eventually the unthankful heart seeks t repay kind benefits with evil. Ingratitude 1) Want f gratitude r sentiments f kindness fr favrs received; insensibility t favrs, and want f a dispsitin t repay them; unthankfulness. 2) Retributin f evil fr gd. (Webster s 1828) Ungrateful 1) Nt grateful; nt feeling thankful fr favrs. 2) Nt making returns, r making ill returns fr kindness. 3) Making n returns fr culture; as an ungrateful sil. 4) Unpleasing; unacceptable. Harsh sunds are ungrateful t the ear. (Webster s 1828) Ungratefulness 1) Ingratitude; want f due feelings f kindness fr favrs received; ill return fr gd. 2) Disagreeableness; unpleasing quality. (Webster s 1828) Pastr Bryan Rss
3 Rmans 1:19-20 the gentiles knew wh Gd was because Gd has shwed himself unt them. One f the ways he did this was thrugh his creatin. Rmans 1:21-23 ntice the degenerative spiral in this verse. The Gentiles knew wh Gd Became unthankful and did nt glrify Gd as Gd which leads t Becming vain in their imaginatins which leads t Their flish hearts being darkened which leads t Prfessing themselves t be wise which leads t The transferring t the glry due t the uncrruptible Gd int the wrship f images made after crruptible things. Rmans 1:24-32 all f the evil described in this passage finds its pint f rigin in verse 21 in their lack f thankfulness and nt glrifying Gd as Gd. Cnsider all the evil that resulted frm a lack f thanksgiving. Fall f Lucifer Temptatin f Eve Ingratitude is the seedbed f sin. We kill cntentment by cmparisn. The Thankful Heart Ephesians 2:8-9 hw are we saved? We are saved by grace thrugh faith. What is grace? Webster s 1828 Dictinary defines Grace as: 1) Favr; gd will; kindness; dispsitin t blige anther; 2) the free unmerited lve and favr f Gd, the spring and surce f all the benefits men receive frm him. S grace is unearned favr and kindness frm Gd that we d nt deserve. Ephesians 2:1-3 because f Adam s sin, we were dead in trespasses and sins and were by nature the children f wrath. In ther wrds, we had Gd s wrath abiding upn us. Ephesians 2:4-5 but Gd wh is rich in mercy lved us and prvide a way thrugh Christ fr us t be saved frm his wrath by the grace f Gd. Ephesians 2:8 the Greek wrd translated Grace is the wrd charis. 8 different times in the New Testament this wrd is translate either thank r thanks by the translatrs f the KJB. Luke 6:32-34 thank Rmans 6:17 Gd be thanked I Crinthians 15:57 thanks be t Gd Pastr Bryan Rss
4 I Peter 2:19 thankwrthy Philippians 4:6 the Greek wrd translated thanksgiving is the wrd eucharistia. 15 times this wrd is translated in the KJB: thanksgiving (9), giving f thanks (3), thankfulness (1). I Thessalnians 5:18 the Greek wrd translated give thanks is the wrd eucharisteō. 39 times this wrd is translated in the KJB: give thanks (26), thank (12), thankful (1) Please cnsider that all the majr Greek wrds in the New Testament assciated with the giving f thanks r thanksgiving are all cnnected assciated with grace. Charis grace, thank, thanked, thanks be t Gd, thankwrthy Eucharistia thanksgiving Eucharisteō give thanks When ne cnsiders these facts alng with the definitins f the relevant English wrds the heart f thanksgiving cmes int the fcus. Fundamentally, the heart f thanksgiving allws the unearned, unmerited, favr, kindness, and grace f Gd t stir up the sentiment f gratitude fr all that Gd has dne fr us an n ur behalf and then it expresses that sentiment by giving thanks t Gd fr his grace. A heart f thanksgiving is literally taking the grace f Gd and living it ut daily in the details f life. Thanksgiving: The Seed Bed f Jy Luke 22:19 n the eve f fulfilling the reasn fr which Christ came, knwing that the time f his death was at hand, and with full knwledge nt nly the impending physical agny but spiritual separatin frm the father that he wuld endure Christ gave thanks. Matthew 26:27 Jesus Christ gave thanks bth fr his brken bdy and his shed bld. Jesus ffers thanksgiving fr that which will break him, crush him, and cause separatin frm Gd the father. Christ was thankful fr the privilege f being able t lay dwn his wn life in payment fr and they by accmplish eternal salvatin fr yu and I. Hebrews 12:2 why did Christ endure the crss? Fr the jy set befre him. Christ culd give thanks t Gd despite paid, anguish, suffering, and separatin because he knew the jy it wuld prduce t have made satisfactin fr sin. There is n jy withut thanksgiving. This is the Grace Life, the life f charis, the life f thanksgiving (Eucharistia), the life the ffers itself in service t Gd mtivated by a prfund appreciatin fr what Gd has dne n ur behalf. It is the nly life and lifestyle capable f experiencing jy t its fullest capacity. Pastr Bryan Rss
5 I Crinthians 11:23-26 the bservance f the Lrd s Table is t be dne accrding t Paul, in remembrance f me. By bserving the Lrd s Table, we ffer back t Gd the Father the same thanksgiving that the sn ffered in gratitude and with full knwledge f all that Christ accmplished upn the crss. It is here, in the wrk f Christ that we are t find ur jy. I Thessalnians 5:16 Philippians 3:1 the expressin rejice in the Lrd is a present active imperative. Paul is cmmanding the Philippians t find their surce f rejicing in the Lrd. Philippians 4:4 nce again the expressin t rejice fund twice in this verse is a present active imperative. Thanksgiving is the nly sustainable surce f lasting jy. And thanksgiving is cnnected with the grace f Gd. When we quench thanksgiving, we kill jy. Ephesians 4:31-32 D I really smther my wn jy because I believe that anger achieves mre than lve? That Satan s way is mre pwerful, mre practical, mre fulfilling in my daily life than Jesus way? Why else get angry? Isn t it because I think cmplain, exasperatin, resent, will pund me up int the full life I really want? When I chse and it is a chice t crush jy with bitterness, am I nt purpsefully chsing t take the way f the Prince f Darkness? Chsing the angry way f Lucifer because I think its mre effective mre expedient than giving thanks? (Vskamp, 1236) Pastr Bryan Rss