A Life of Thanksgiving Psalm 100:1-5, NIV Shout for joy to the LORD, all the earth. Worship the LORD with gladness; come before him with joyful songs. Know that the LORD is God. It is he who made us, and we are his; we are his people, the sheep of his pasture. Enter his gates with thanksgiving and his courts with praise; give thanks to him and praise his name. For the LORD is good and his love endures forever; his faithfulness continues through all generations. Let us greet each other, saying, “Jesus loves you.” Let us greet each other one more time, saying, “Good things will happen in the Lord.” I would like to share the grace of God under the title, “A Life of Thanksgiving,” based on Psalm 100:1-5. Would you please repeat after me? “A Life of Thanksgiving. A Life of Thanksgiving” It is the duty of Christians to give thanks to God. Now that we who used to be sinners are saved and have become the children of God, we should give thanks to God throughout our lives. Our faith grows through our thanksgiving. We can experience deeper grace through our thanksgiving. Our thanksgiving changes us, our homes, our community, and the whole country. When all Christians live with overflowing thanks, all the bad things in the community will be gone. We will enjoy the abundant grace of the Lord. What should we do to live a life of thanksgiving? First, we must worship the Lord with gladness. We must serve the Lord with joy. When we worship and serve the Lord with joy, the Lord will pour His grace upon us. Psalm 100:1-2 says, “Shout for joy to the LORD, all the earth. Worship the LORD with gladness; come before him with joyful songs.” Worship the LORD with gladness; come before him with joyful songs. Hallelujah! The Lord gives us joy after we believe in Him. The joy He gives is eternal, which cannot be found anywhere else. Since the Lord Jesus dwells in our hearts, we can rejoice in Him. We can give thanks to Him and praise Him as a new creation. When we look at the situations around us, we may have despair, feel depressed, or mourn in sorrow. On the other hand, when we look unto the Lord, we will find grace, joy, and peace in Him. We must focus on the Lord all the time. Then He will fill us with His overflowing grace and joy. Eliza Edmunds Hewitt had a teaching career in the public schools of Philadelphia. One day while attempting to correct an unruly student, the boy struck her across her back with a heavy piece of slate. This serious injury became a spinal condition that confined her to a hospital bed for some time in a heavy body cast. Since she should not move, she was lying in a heavy cast for six months. Even though it must have been very painful, she experienced the grace of the Lord while she was in the hospital. When you are in trouble or when you feel forsaken or feel lonely, have close fellowship with the Lord. Come before the Lord and worship Him. You will be more greatly blessed by the Lord than before. Eliza bowed down before the Lord and prayed to Him. After she had spent six months in a cast recovering from this injury, her physician finally permitted her to go for a short walk in a nearby park on a warm spring day. Her heart overflowed with joy while she walked in the park, breathing in fresh air. She wrote poems in thanksgiving to the Lord. Her poems were later put to music. One of her well known songs is in our hymnal. It is Hymn Number 455. The lyrics say: The trusting heart to Jesus clings, Nor any ill forebodes, But at the cross of Calv’ry sings, “Praise God for lifted loads!” Singing I go along life’s road, Praising the Lord, praising the Lord; Singing I go along life’s road, for Jesus has lifted my load. The trusting heart to Jesus clings, Nor any ill forebodes, But at the cross of Calv’ry sings, “Praise God for lifted loads!” I pray that you will unload your heavy burdens before the Lord Jesus, being filled with the joy coming from the Lord. When we come before the Lord, He pours His joy upon us. Isaiah 35:10 says, “... the ransomed of the LORD will return. They will enter Zion with singing; everlasting joy will crown their heads. Gladness and joy will overtake them, and sorrow and sighing will flee away.” Hallelujah! According to Health Insurance Review Agency, there were 490,000 patients who were treated with hypochondria in 2007. It means that one out of 100 Koreans went to the hospital for hypochondriac treatment. Professor Moon-Jo Kim of Korea University said that more people are anxious, and consequently, have hypochondria during a period of economic recess. Koreans have three kinds of depressing stress: stress about college admission, jobs, and retirement. Since these problems are getting more serious, more people are bound to have hypochondria. Many hypochondriac patients end up committing suicide. Do not be surprised. More than 70,000 people in Korea committed suicide between 2000 and 2007. More than 70,000! According to the 2007data among OECD countries, the Korean suicide rate is 24 out of 1000, which is much higher than the average rate among OECD countries. Seventy thousand suicide deaths between 2000 and 2007 means that the population of a town has vanished. These days, everyone is talking about the H1N1 virus. Even though we are paranoid by the new influenza, the death-toll from H1N1 is a little more than 80. On the other hand, more than 10,000 have killed themselves per year. Suicide is a very serious problem. I believe that various media must start some campaigns about preventing suicide. There is medicine for H1N1, but we cannot prescribe medication for suicide, because it kills without warning. We need to prevent suicide beforehand. What should we do to prevent it? We need to plant Jesus Christ in people’s hearts. When they are filled with the joy of the Lord, they will be healed from hypochondria. It is said that two out of three suicide victims had hypochondria. Therefore, we must pray and speak about the love of the Lord Jesus to those who are suffering from problems and hardships. Dr. Su-Kwan Hwang, author of Joy Health Treatment, once led a seminar for ministers at our church. He said one big laugh had the same effect on our body as 30 minutes of jogging. Therefore, if you want to laugh, laugh as hard as you can. You must laugh hard enough to hold your sides with laughter. When we laugh, God make us healthy. That is why the Bible tells us to rejoice all the time. I want you to rejoice in the Lord. We must rejoice. Joy renews us. It makes our spirits, souls, and bodies healthy. Philippians 4:4 says, “Rejoice in the Lord always. I will say it again: Rejoice!” Even when we cannot rejoice on our own, the Scripture says, “Rejoice in the Lord always. I will say it again: Rejoice!” It emphatically tells us to rejoice. What should we do to keep rejoicing? We need to pray a lot and be filled with the Spirit. When we are filled with the Word and the Spirit of the Lord, we will have overflowing joy. Joy will drive away all our sorrow, worry, pain, and agony, filling us with the grace of the Lord. Psalm 30:11 says, “You turned my wailing into dancing; you removed my sackcloth and clothed me with joy.” You turned my wailing into dancing; you removed my sackcloth and clothed me with joy! How wonderful it is! I pray that you will serve the Lord with joy, giving thanks to Him for blessing you with this wonderful joy. When we are filled with the Holy Spirit, we are filled with joy, too. Why is that? That is because joy is a fruit of the Holy Spirit. Joy is listed as the second fruit of the Holy Spirit. When we are filled with joy, we will have peace. As a result, we will bear the fruit of the Spirit: love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control. Therefore, we need to serve the Lord with joy. Second, in order to serve the Lord with joy, we must have a right relationship with God. What kind of relationship does the Scripture speak about? Psalm 100:3 says, “Know that the LORD is God. It is he who made us, and we are his; we are his people, the sheep of his pasture.” When we have a right relationship with God, He will pour His grace and blessings upon us. The Scripture says that He made us. He is our Creator. The Scripture also says that we are His. The Lord is our Master. We are His people. He is our Lord and King. We are the sheep of His pasture. He is our shepherd. Hallelujah! “The Lord who has made us, our Creator, we give thanks to You.” Genesis 1:1 says, “In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth.” Evolutionists do not seem to understand. They say that a tiny ameba started developing some billion years ago. According to them, the ameba kept developing, and eventually, it became a man. Does this make sense to you? Nothing can exist accidentally. How can a life accidentally come into being? Think of this cup. Somebody made it. Think about a book. Somebody made it, too. How can things exist accidentally? God created the whole universe. After creating all things, the Lord God formed man from the dust of the ground and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life, and the man became a living being. God put man in charge of the earth. The human body was created so mysteriously that people keep researching it. There are more than one hundred billion cells in our brains. One hundred billion cells! Half a million cells on the stomach walls die every minute, while another half a million cells are being made. Our stomach walls are completely renewed every three days. Is it not marvelous? The total length of our veins is 96,000 kilometers, about twice the circumference of the globe. This would be 160,000 kilometers long, including capillaries, which amounts to four times the circumference of the globe. Our blood is traveling in such long veins in our body. Is it not marvelous? The veins should not be clogged. When veins are clogged, you will have a disease such as arteriosclerosis or angina pectoris. This is the way God created us. Our blood is going running through our veins even now. The human body is a marvelous work of God’s creation. After creating Adam and Eve so marvelously, God gave them the power to control the universe. Genesis 1:28 says, “God blessed them and said to them, ‘Be fruitful and increase in number; fill the earth and subdue it. Rule over the fish of the sea and the birds of the air and over every living creature that moves on the ground.’ ” Hallelujah! Now that we have received so much grace from God, we must give thanks to the Lord. We must create new history every day in His grace, worshipping God. As the children of God, we must create joy where there is sorrow. We must create hope in place of hopelessness. We must create blessing in a cursed place. The Lord is our Creator. Moreover, He is our Master and owner. Isaiah 43:1 says, “But now, this is what the LORD says-he who created you, O Jacob, he who formed you, O Israel: ‘Fear not, for I have redeemed you; I have summoned you by name; you are mine.’ ” “I have summoned you by name; you are mine.” To own us, to claim His right over us, God has summoned us by name. And he says, “You are mine.” Why do we have to worry about things, now that God has chosen us and made us His children? Why do we have to be bewildered? God will take care of our lives. Even if you are in the midst of problems, pain, and sorrow, you should look to the Lord. He is upholding you, saying, “You are mine. Do not be dismayed. Do not give up. Even if people may forsake you and leave you, I will never forsake you. I will be with you. Since I am your Master, I will take care of you to the end.” First, God is our Creator. Second, He is our Master who owns us. Third, He is our sovereign King. We are His people. God is our Creator. God is our Master. God is our sovereign King. Psalm 24:8 says, “Who is this King of glory? The LORD strong and mighty, the LORD mighty in battle.” Since the Lord of lords and the King of kings is our God, we will be victorious. We will win every battle we fight-even hundreds of times. We are more than conquerors even when trouble, problems, disease, or pain comes. Why is that? That is because our God, our King, fights for us. That is why we need to obey our King absolutely. When we dedicate our lives to Him, following His will, He will bless us. We are His blessed people. God is always with us. God is not only our King but also our shepherd. He is our shepherd! Even though David went through many hardships and problems throughout his life, when he looked back on his life, he had so many things to be thankful for. He praised the Lord in the Psalm. Psalm 23:1 says, “The LORD is my shepherd, I shall not be in want.” We shall not be in want. When David thought about his life as a shepherd, he realized how the sheep followed their shepherd. The shepherd sacrifices all other things for his sheep. He takes care of his flock, taking them to green pastures and beside quiet waters. Shepherds deliver his sheep from all kinds of difficulty. Jesus came to earth as the good shepherd. He took our sins and died on the Cross for us. John 10:11 says, “I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd lays down his life for the sheep.” The Lord is our shepherd, took all our sins on His body, and died on the Cross instead of us. Since we are saved by His grace, we are worshipping the Lord with joy and thanksgiving right here and right now. Therefore, we must give thanks to the Lord over and over again for His wonderful grace. We must pray, “Father, thank You for creating me. I praise God the Creator. I want to live the life of a new creation in the Lord. Lord, my Master, I give thanks to You. I want to obey You and follow Your guidance. My God and my King, I thank You. Reign over me. Deliver me from hopelessness and pain. Help me to be a victor and winner in spiritual warfare. I trust You, my Lord, my Shepherd. I cannot do anything in my own strength. Lead me to green pastures and beside quiet waters. Protect, keep, and lead me with Your rod and staff. Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, comfort me. Prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies. Anoint my head with oil. I will dwell in the house of the Lord forever.” I want you to make the same confession of faith as David. The Lord will take care of your life, leading every step of your life, and fill you with overflowing grace. Third, we must come before the Lord with thanksgiving. Please repeat after me, “A life of coming before the Lord with thanksgiving.” Psalm 100:4 says, “Enter his gates with thanksgiving and his courts with praise; give thanks to him and praise his name.” “Enter his gates with thanksgiving and his courts with praise; give thanks to him and praise his name.” Did you come to church with thanksgiving today? Did you come here with praise? I pray that you will love to worship the Lord and come to church with thanksgiving, joy, and great enthusiasm. A lady who was living in the Washington D.C. area visited Korea 10 years after her previous visit. She had wanted to come to Yoido Full Gospel Church so much that she came a long time before the service started. She was anxious and thrilled while she was waiting. The first service ended and she was walking on the stairs to enter the sanctuary for the second service. Utterly overwhelmed and touched, she began to cry heavily, still stepping on the stairs. People took their seats so quickly, that the sanctuary was half filled already. She sat in the middle section. She cried while she sang hymns. She cried while she prayed. She cried while she listened to the sermon. She was crying throughout the service that day, because she was overwhelmed by being in the sanctuary. You come here every Sunday to worship the Lord. How wonderful it is! The lady was crying while she was walking up the stairs. She cried throughout the whole service. I do not think you cry that much. Let us give thanks to the Lord. Your thanksgiving leads you to God’s blessings. We must give thanks to the Lord. According to Acts 16, as you know very well, even though Paul and Silas were falsely accused, beaten up, and put into prison, they praised God and gave thanks to Him. God delighted in their praises, and He shook the foundation of the prison through a violent earthquake. All the prison doors flew open, and everybody’s chains came loose. When you give thanks to the Lord, He will open all your closed doors for you. He will loosen all the chains that bind you. I pray that you will bow down before the Lord in prayer, and come before Him with thanksgiving and praise in all circumstances. Philippians 4:6 says, “Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God.” Colossians 3:16 says, “Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly as you teach and admonish one another with all wisdom, and as you sing psalms, hymns and spiritual songs with gratitude in your hearts to God.” Please repeat after me, “Sing praises with gratitude.” Let us come before the Lord with thanksgiving. Your thanksgiving will change your life. It will change your destiny. It will bring marvelous miracles and blessings to your life. William Law writes in His book, Serious Call, “The greatest saint in the world is he who is always thankful to God.” Indeed, the greatest saint in the world is he who is always thankful to God. It is a good and admirable thing to pray, to fast, to practice love to others, and to give a lot of offerings. However, the most precious thing we scan do is to come before the Lord with thanksgiving. Hallelujah! I want you to give overflowing thanks to the Lord throughout your life. Colossians 2:7 says, “…rooted and built up in him, strengthened in the faith as you were taught, and overflowing with thankfulness.” Repeat after me, “Be overflowing with thankfulness. Be overflowing with thankfulness.” Hallelujah! I want to close today’s sermon by introducing a man who lives with overflowing thanks. There was a baby boy born to a pastor in Australia on December 4, 1982. The fetus had been in perfect condition at the time of checking with ultrasonic waves. However, he was born without arms or legs. He only had a small foot. He says, “Hi. How are you? My name is Nick Vujicic. Nice meeting you. I do not have arms or legs except a small foot like a chicken drumstick. I could easily fall on the road. What should I do when I fall? As all of you would do, I have to rise again, because I cannot go anywhere, remaining fallen. You may feel you do not have the strength to rise when you have fallen. Do you think I have hope? I am fallen now, and I do not have arms or legs to help me to rise.” Nick Vujicic is traveling all over the world, spreading happiness and hope, and preaching the Gospel of the Lord. He is so precious. He is very inspiring. Even though he has only one small foot, he gives thanks to the Lord as much as he can. He wanted to kill himself when he was eight. However, he met the Lord Jesus and began to give thanks to Him. His favorite Scripture verse is Romans 8:28, “And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose.” He began to give thanks to the Lord for His grace. He said, “Thank you for giving me a foot. I will do whatever You want me to do with thanksgiving. I will go and follow You wherever You send me. I will praise You wherever I go. I praise You. I trust in You completely.” His ministry has great impact on people, especially on young people. When he approaches people with love and hope, they are blessed by him and find hope. He says, “I know why God created me like this. If a single person finds hope by looking at me, I am content.” The Lord is with us. Never give up. Nick Vujicic is spreading hope all over the world with the love of Jesus Christ. He is scheduled to come to our church to give his personal testimony next February. Give thanks to God. Give thanks to the Lord for His grace upon you. I do not see any one here without arms or legs. If we have not given thanks to God, we must repent and pray to God, “Heavenly Father, I want to give thanks to You for the rest of my life. I want to thank You even when I am swamped in the middle of problems and in rough situations. I rejoice in You. I am thankful to You.” When we rejoice and give thanks and praise to the Lord, He will pour His abundant grace upon us. Psalm 100:5 says, “For the LORD is good and his love endures forever; his faithfulness continues through all generations.” We must give thanks to the Lord for this wonderful grace and love of God. We must pray to Him, “I give thanks to You for You are good and Your love endures forever; Your faithfulness continues through all generations. I give thanks to You, Lord. Thank You for saving me and blessing me with good health. I thank You for Your grace and blessings. I want to give thanks to You throughout my life. Always be with me, Lord.” When you live with thanksgiving, God will make your life a brilliant one in His grace through the light of His glory. What kind of life have you had so far? Have you always been in pain and agony? Have you thought about giving up because your problems were too big and depressing? Look unto the Lord. Restore your joy in the Lord. Leave all your cares to the Lord. Give thanks to Him. Your life will be covered with the miracles and blessings of God. Let us pray. Our Heavenly Father of infinite love, grace, and mercy, we have come to You with joy and thanksgiving. Lord, even though our life should be filled with thanksgiving, we have complained over trivial things, entangled by our own problems, failing to rejoice or give thanks to You. We repent of our sins. Help us so that we will be filled with thanksgiving throughout our life, manifesting Your glory. I pray in the name of Jesus. Amen.