Be thankful ( Col 3 : 15 - 17 ) 15 And let the peace of God rule in yourhearts , to the which also ye are called in one body ; and be ye thankful . 16 Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly in all wisdom ; teachingand admonishing one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs , singingwith grace in your hearts to the Lord . 17 And whatsoever ye do in word or deed , do all in the name of the LordJesus , giving thanks to God and the Father by him . Intro ) 1 . Isaac Walton who livedin 17 th Century , England said “ There are two places that Godpresence , one is Heaven and the other one is in a thankful heart . ” 2 . In King Lear byWilliam Shakespeare , King Lear said “ It is more painful to have unthankfulchild than get bitten by fang of snake ” after his daughter betrayed him . 3 . Yes thankful heart isthe place where the God presence , and in unthankful heart can be a place ofdeath like fang of venomous snake . So heaven and Hell is depends on your heart . Also , thankful heart isone of the measurements of God to judge each human ’ s value . So , Apostle Paul intoday ’ s text stressed importance of thankful heart three times . A ) Be Thankful . Today ’ s text says “ be ye thankful ( verse 15 ) singing with grace in your hearts to the Lord ( verse 16 ) giving thanks to God and the Father by him ( verse 17 ) . ” Today is thanks givingSunday ; first of all , let ’ s think about the origin of the thanks giving day . Puritansfrom England came to Plymouth for freedom of religious practice . It was 1620 , November 9 . There was 102 people on the Mayflower , however 44 people died because of thecoldness and disease . In the next year , theycould plant corn , barley , and wheat by help from Native Americans . That day wasLast Thursday of November 1621 . This was the origin of the Thanks giving . 2 ) Bible talks aboutThanksgiving day few times . Exodus 23 : 16 says “ And the feast of harvest , thefirstfruits of thy labours , which thou hast sown in the field : and the feast ofingathering , which is in the end of the year , when thou hast gathered in thylabours out of the field . ” Exodus 34 : 22 says “ 22 And thou shalt observe the feast ofweeks , of the firstfruits of wheat harvest , and the feast of ingathering at theyear ' s end . ” The meaning of theseterms , the reasons of giving these terms to us is for us to offer thankfully . God gave us the sunshine , and rain for the plants , and He always watching over us , gives us foods andwealth . So , we should thank Him . Most of all , we shouldthank him for saving us from death , cleans us like snow . There is no way to payHim back for what He has done for us . Why Judas ruined his life ? He was a type of person who complains a lot . Hecomplained about the women who used whole box of precious ointment for Jesus , he said “ For this ointment might havebeen sold for much , and given to the poor . ” Then Jesus said “ Why trouble ye the woman ? for she hathwrought a good work upon me . ” Eventually he ended up perform a suicide after he sold Jesus for 30 shekel . 3 ) Fanny Crosby wentblind 6 week after she born . However she overcomes her handicap and wrote over 600 hymns , Especially hymn number 384 , 380 , and 435 are the famous ones . Shecould easily spent her life with complaining but instead she praise the Lord . God also left her up . 4 ) In a Jewish book thereis a saying “ Most wise person learn from the world , strongest person wins over himself , but the most happiest person is who are always thankful . ” B ) Be thankful is anorder . 1 ) Jesus demands us to bethankful . He tells us to have a thankful heart . How the peace of Jesus cancontrol our heart ? 1 ) By thinking about the cross of the savior . 2 ) By thinking about Jesus ’ blood shed on thecross . 3 ) By meeting Jesus while praying . 4 ) While you read the Bible . 5 ) When you serve Jesus . In verse 16 says “ Let the word of Christ dwell inyou richly in all wisdom ; teaching and admonishing one another in psalms andhymns and spiritual songs , singing with grace in your hearts to the Lord . ” And also verse 17 says “ 17 And whatsoever ye do in word or deed , do all in the name of the LordJesus , giving thanks to God and the Father by him . ” 2 ) Anunnamed soldier became crippled during the American Civil War , and left thistestimony : " Iasked God to make me a strong person who accomplishes many things , but instead Hemake me weak and gave me humbleness and the wisdom of sacrifice and obedience . I asked Godto make me a healthy person so I can do big things , but instead He made mehandicapped and gave me the chance to do even bigger and greater things . I asked Godto make me rich so I could live a happy life , but instead He made poor and gaveme wisdom for my life . I asked Godto give me power so I could receive praise from others , but instead God made memeek so that I would come to need Him and depend on Him . I asked Godfor everything that would let me enjoy life , but instead God gave me a lifethat lets me enjoy anything . Nothing Iasked God for was given to me . Yet I received everything I hoped for . Despitemy current state and situation , I have received so many of God ’ s blessings . Godhas blessed me more than anyone . Hallelujah ! " D ) There aredays when we are blessed with wonderful weather , but we let that day go bywithout notice . On May 20 thand 21 st of 2009 , rain finally fell in South Korea after a long drought . It wascalculated that the net worth of this rainfall was 460 million dollars . It wasthe first time the worth of rain was reported in Korea . Weather forecastersstated that the 37 mm ( 1 . 5 inches ) of rain cleared the air , creating 300 milliondollars . The 2 , 933 , 582 households were also able to find relief from thedrought and overall 100 million 6 thousand dollars was saved . In addition : - damwater reserve levels went up - water levels for farms went up - forest fires wereprevented alongside 10 other positive effects . * Earlierthis month on the 8 th , a Typhoon Haiyan hit the Philippines . According reportson the 18 th , it has been counted that the death toll has passed 5000 . ThePhilippines state that the around 3 , 974 people died around the islands of Leyteand Samar in central Philippines , and 1 , 186 are still missing . The search fordead bodies is a slow and tedious progress , with the death toll continuing toincrease . 12 , 544 people remain injured , more than 543 , 000 houses are eitherpartially or completely destroyed , and more than 4000 trucks of debris havebeen cleared from the city of Tacloban alone . The National Disaster RiskReduction and Management Council of the Philippines stated that an estimated 200 million 5 thousand dollars ’ worth of damages were done by the typhoon . Ofcourse , it will cost much more to fix all these damages . * Last week , in the state of Illinois , there were 80 tornadoes that passed within 12 hours . The citizens evacuated and took shelter ahead of time , but thousands of homeswere destroyed . Eight people died and more than 200 people were injured . It ispredicted to take over a year to restore the affected cities . * Therefore , after looking at all these disasters that occurred within our own world , wemust always give thanks to God for his gift of good weather . Conclusion ) Let us all givethanks to God . During this past year , He has given us sunlight , rain , wind , hearty grains , sweet fruit , and all other blessings ! Let us always give thanksto our gracious Lord with our whole hearts , and receive even more blessingsfrom Him . Let us use those blessings for His name and glory , constantlythanking Him . Hallelujah !