'A Cheerful Heart'
A cheerful heart that tastes God's gifts with joy is the key to true thanksgiving and understanding what pleases God.
A.W. Tozer emphasizes the importance of a cheerful heart in the life of a thankful Christian, drawing inspiration from Joseph Addison's Thanksgiving hymn. He highlights that true delight in God's gifts is expressed through gratitude and joy, which not only enriches our lives but also pleases God. Tozer notes that a cheerful heart is essential for safely enjoying the blessings God provides, and he reflects on the eternal nature of God's gifts, extending beyond this life. The sermon encourages believers to maintain a spirit of thanksgiving throughout their lives and into eternity.
Text
The thankful Christian will turn with true delight to the expression of Joseph Addison in his Thanksgiving hymn, "When All Thy Mercies, 0 My God," found in many of the better hymnals. Addison gives a mental image that requires music for its expression: Ten thousand thousand precious gifts My daily thanks employ; Nor is the least a cheerful heart That tastes these gifts with joy! Here is the spirit of thanksgiving. Here is the understanding of what pleases God in our acceptance and use of His gifts. "A cheefful heart that tastes these gifts with joy" is the only kind of heart that can taste them safely.
While Addison had in mind chiefly the gifts God showers upon us here below, he was too much of a Christian to think that God's gifts would cease at death.
So he sang: Through every period of my life Thy goodness I'll pursue; And after death in distant worlds, The glorious theme renew!
Sermon Outline
- I. The Spirit of Thankfulness
- A. A cheerful heart that tastes God's gifts with joy
- B. The understanding of what pleases God in our acceptance and use of His gifts
- II. The Importance of a Cheerful Heart
- A. The only kind of heart that can taste God's gifts safely
- III. Continual Thankfulness
- A. Pursuing God's goodness through every period of life
- B. Renewing the theme of God's goodness after death
Key Quotes
“Ten thousand thousand precious gifts My daily thanks employ;” — A.W. Tozer
“A cheerful heart that tastes these gifts with joy!” — A.W. Tozer
“Through every period of my life Thy goodness I'll pursue;” — A.W. Tozer
Application Points
- We should strive to cultivate a cheerful heart that appreciates and uses God's gifts with joy.
- Continual thankfulness is essential to our relationship with God, and we should pursue His goodness through every period of life.
- We should renew the theme of God's goodness after death, trusting that His goodness will continue beyond this life.