THEME: "GRATITUDE ATTITUDE" -- IN EVERYTHING GIVE THANKS. 1Thessalonians 5:18,
"In every thing give thanks: for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus concerning you." Twelve Stones.A reminder to the future generation. "The power of remembering." This is why we are building a wall of answered prayer that will make a landmark revealing a part of God's greatness. Record of testimonies will allows generation to remember Jesus' nature and His power to change lives. (Let's all pray)
KEY VERSES: Joshua 4:7, "Then ye shall answer them, That the waters of Jordan were cut off before the ark of the covenant of the Lord; when it passed over Jordan, the waters of Jordan were cut off: and these stones shall be for a memorial unto the children of Israel for ever."
1Thessalonians 1:3, "Remembering without ceasing your work of faith, & labour of love, and patience of hope in our Lord Jesus Christ, in the sight of God and our Father."
LESSON-1: “THE POWER OF REMEMBERING" - Twelve Stones - landmark of God's greatness.
Each tribe was to send a representative to take a large stone from the dry riverbed where Israel had crossed over, so the stones could be set up as a memorial.
PURPOSE: The twelve stones was set-up as a sign among the people that when their children ask in time to come, so they could teach their children about the great things that God had done; so that the work of God would not be forgotten among the generations.
- INTRODUCTION:
One of man's greatest failure is forgetting God's blessings. The children of Israel often are not thankful for God's gracious presence and goodness. Despite the miracles which God performed, they could only complain about the hardship and problems in the wilderness. Their ingratitude towards God's greatness, is the best lesson for us to learn to have a gratitude attitude. There are two places that God love to dwell here on earth. God inhabits in the praises of His people and He likes to dwell in a grateful heart.
1. TOPIC TO BE DISCUSS: First thing first! The Ungratefulness-We see this clearly in the narrative of our Lord Jesus and the 10 lepers in Lke 17:17, "And Jesus answering said, Were there not ten cleansed? but where are the nine? What a miracle! Instantly, their diseased skin was newly born, fingers lost to in-fection were restored and they could walk on feet with full sensitivity and without pain. And yet, only one leper turned around, fell at Jesus’ feet & thanked him. Ten lepers were cleansed, but what about the other nine? Here observe:
1. If Gratitude is a life-changing, what about Ingratitude? What began as a lifeline has become a daily life-giving practice. People's only regret is that they didn’t start intentionally giving God thanks earlier, because intentionally cultivating daily gratitude would show us the cost of ingratitude. We often talk a-bout the benefits of gratitude, but let’s look at five-things the Bible teaches about ingratitude. By being thankful isn’t just a trend; it’s a command.
1. Ingratitude is a sin. It's not just oversight on our part. Scripture tells us over and over to give thanks to the Lord. The book of Psalms are filled with the instruction to give thanks to the Lord.
2. Ingratitude is Natural. Gratitude won’t just happen. We have to intentionally cultivate it because of our nature is to be ungrateful. We see these clearly with the Lord Jesus' miracle to the ten lepers.
3. Ingratitude is a mark of unbelief. It tells God He hasn't done enough & that He isn’t enough. That ingratitude makes our heart stony and keeps us from believing God & obeying Him. Israel’s grumbling in the wilderness for 40 years in search for the promised land is a perfect illustration.
4. Ingratitude shows God is not good. Adam and Eve fell prey to ingratitude in Gen 3. God had given them an abundant garden flourishing with all kinds of vegetation, teeming with animals & filled with God’s presence. It's perfect & complete that they lacked nothing. But in that world of abundance, Satan got Adam and Eve to focus on the one thing God had withheld from them.
5. Ingratitude means we are outside of God's Will. We often makes God’s will out to be some big as a mysterious plan that we need to puzzle out, where in it is just a simple obedience. God’s will is not only where God is leading us, but how we walk with Him side by side throughout the way.
6. Remembering without ceasing your work of faith. There were things about the Christians in Thessalonica that Paul simply could not forget. What he remembered about them, made him thankful. Only if we won't forget the decisions, dedication and the doctrine that we got then we can have a grateful heart.
- Remembering past decisions. By recalling what God has done for us& for others, faith is restored, joy is uncovered and our hearts turn from despair to praise. Together we will inspire generations of God’s goodness to turn their hearts unto the Lord. We have these power to influence and inspire our children and their children by remembering what God has done.
a) Moses. (Heb 11:25), "Choosing rather to suffer affliction with the people of God, than to enjoy the pleasures of sin for a season." Moses had to make a choice. He could have continue to live among the elite, but instead he choose to live with God's people. As the result, God made him a great leader. He was the man who would receive the Ten Commandments, and lead God's people to the Promised Land.
b) Joshua. (Jos 24:15), "And if it seem evil unto you to serve the Lord, choose you this day whom ye will serve; whether the gods w/c your fathers served that were on the other side of the flood, or the gods of the Amorites, in whose land ye dwell: but as for me and my house, we will serve the Lord." He challenge the people to make a choice. He then make a choice for himself and his family. He is the successor of Moses and able to enter the Promised land
c) Solomon. (1Kng 3:9), "Give therefore thy servant an understanding heart to judge thy people, that I may discern between good and bad: for who is able to judge this thy so great a people?" He requested an understanding heart so that he could judge God's people wisely. He didn't ask for wealth, power, or long life, & his unselfish answer pleased the Lord. He became the man of peace to build the Temple of God.
2. Remembering past dedications. This is why we're building a wall of answered prayer, so that hope is made visible for the next generations. One million answered prayers will make up this landmark revealing a part of God's greatness. Making a record of testimonies will allow generations to remember Jesus’ nature and His power to change lives.
a) Daniel. (Dan 1:8), "But Daniel purposed in his heart that he would not defile himself with the portion of the king's meat, nor w/ the wine w/c he drank: therefore he requested of the prince of the eunuchs that he might not defile himself.
a-1) Making up his mind. Daniel would not compromise. A special intellectual ability of Daniel is not due to his diet, but the purpose not to defile his body and God make a divine intervention of promotion.
a-2) A plot against Daniel. His dedication kept him to be consistent in his prayer life rather than from following the crowd. Therefore, it strengthened him during the time when he face the den of the lions
b) Hebrew boys. (Dan 3:17-18), 17If it be so, our God whom we serve is able to deliver us from the burning fiery furnace (great faith), & he'll deliver us out of thine hand, O king (greater faith). 18 But if not, be it known unto thee, O king, that we will not serve thy gods, nor worship the golden image which thou hast set up (greatest faith).
b-1) Three dimensions of faith. They were willing to take a stand for God's divine intervention, instead of bowing to the golden image.
b-2) Making up their minds. Though it meant the fiery furnace, they were dedicated enough to spend time in the fire for the LORD
c) Paul. (Act 20:24), "But none of these things move me, neither count I my life dear unto myself, so that I might finish my course with joy, and the ministry, which I have received of the Lord Jesus, to testify the gospel of the grace of God."
c-1) Paul never give-up. His intimate relationship to the Lord makes his life not dear to him as he had knowledge of Jesus' power of resurrection.
c-2) Conformable unto Jesus death. This reminds us that being in Christ also means being in His death. That all the sufferings he bore were the result of his dedicated life, a willingness to die with the Lord Jesus.
3. Remembering past doctrine. This is an action that brings the power of Jesus into our lives. As we remember what He has done, it enables us to stop focusing on impossibility and instead focus on the God who does the impossible. Here are just a few
a) Pardon. By God's gracious gift of forgiveness through Christ, any wrong we have done isn't held against us. God is eager to forgive and provides forgiveness through faith in Jesus Christ. It is our choice to receive it.
a-1) Jesus bears our sin. (Isa 53:5), "But he was wounded for our transgressions, he was bruised for our iniquities: the chastisement of our peace was upon him; & with his stripes we are healed."
a-2) The Gospel of faith is open to all. (Rom 10:13), "For whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved."
a-3) God's love for sinners. (Jhn 3:16), "For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.
b) Peace. God's kind of peace. The peace that remains in you forever irrespective of your situation. It quenches every trouble even before they come.
b-1) Trust God. (Isa 26:3), "Thou wilt keep him in perfect peace, whose mind is stayed on thee: because he trusteth in thee."
b-2) God's gift. (Jhn 14:27), "Peace I leave with you, my peace I give unto you not as the world giveth, give I unto you. Let not your heart be troubled, neither let it be afraid."
b-3) Security. (Phi 4:7), "And the peace of God, which passeth all understanding, shall keep your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus.
c) Punishment. God standard of judgment is define by His holy character. At birth, we are all deserving of His judgment. But out of His infinitely rich mercy and steadfast love, He sent the perfect Lamb, Christ, to be the perfect sacrifice for our sins.
c-1) Worldliness. (Psa 9:17), "The wicked shall be turned into hell, & all the nations that forget God."
c-2) Damnation. (Mrk 16:16), "He that believeth and is baptized shall be saved; but he that believeth not shall be damned.
d) Promise. The truth is that God will keep His promise, and without delay according to His timing.
Any perceived delay from our perceptive is due to the longsuffering of God, who allows man as much time as possible to repent.
d-1) Righteous path. (Jhn 14:6), "Jesus saith unto him, I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me."
d-2) Blessed hope. (1The 4:17), "Then we which are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds, to meet the Lord in the air: and so shall we ever be with the Lord.
e) Prayer. It is a communication with God. We do this by confessing our sins before Him, thanking Him and asking Him for our needs and desires. Prayer is communion with our creator.
e-1) God's contact number. (Jer 33:3), "Call unto me, and I will answer thee, and show thee great and mighty things, which thou knowest not."
e-2) The fullness of God. (Eph 3:20), "Now unto him that is able to do exceeding abundantly above all that we ask or think, according to the power that worketh in us,"
III. CONCLUSION:
We enjoy Christianity today because many were willing to give their lives. The prophets, apostles, & early Christians gave their lives for the sake of the gospel. In Hebrews 11:36-38, mentions the many who suffered for what we have today. God has not ask that we die for Him (though we may asked to do so). He asks that we live for Him. And the only way we can live for Him, if we remember all the past experiences we got from His miraculous hands and give all the thanksgiving, praises, honor & glory unto His Name.
PTLGA & TGBATG