Reason To Praise
Thanksgiving 2022
Paul writes in 1 Thessalonians chapter 5…
Give thanks in all circumstances; for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus. – 1 Thessalonians 5:18
And He writes in Colossians 3:17
Whatever you do or say, do it as a representative of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through Him…
AND – the Psalmist writes…
Shout for joy to the Lord, all the earth.
(stand... and when I am done I want us to shout for joy to the Lord, shouting is good, shouting is biblical)
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. – Psalm 100
Prayer
NOW – just a few days ago millions of people across this nation celebrated Thanksgiving…
THEY – boarded planes, piled into mini vans, flew across the country, drove along the highways…
(you know on those fun family road trips)
THEY GATHERED – in (homes and apartments) (condos and restaurants)…
THEY SAT – around tables and in living rooms… with family and with friends…
THEY ATE - and laughed, and ate, and shared, and ate and celebrated... and maybe even watched some football…
YES – we Americans love to celebrate ‘Thanksgiving Day!’
NOW - Thanksgiving was first celebrated in our country when the following proclamation was made by Governor William Bradford in 1623, 3 years after the Pilgrims settled at Plymouth;
To all ye Pilgrims,
Inasmuch as the great father has given us this year an abundant harvest of Indian corn, wheat, peas, squashes and garden vegetables, and has made the forests to abound with game and the sea with fish and clams,
and inasmuch as he has … spared us from pestilence and disease, has granted us freedom to worship God according to the dictates of our own conscience.
NOW I, your magistrate, do proclaim that all ye Pilgrims, with your wives and ye little ones, do gather at ye meeting house, on ye hill, (yeah they love the word ‘ye’)
between the hours of 9 and 12 in the day time, on Thursday November ye 29th of the year of our Lord one thousand six hundred and twenty three, and the third year since ye Pilgrims landed on ye Plymouth rock, there to listen to ye pastor (now, I like that... turn to the R/L)
and render thanksgiving to ye Almighty God for all His blessings…. [end Q]
YES – for 399 years Americans have been celebrating Thanksgiving.
BUT UNDERSTAND – thanksgiving is not a concept born in America… INSTEAD - giving thanks is an idea born in the hearts of God’s people from the beginning of time…
I MEAN – it (expressing thanks) is all over the bible from Genesis to Revelation.
NOW – I am calling this mornings conversation…
Reasons To Praise
AND LISTEN – one of the keys to always having a reason to praise and for being about to as God through Paul commands us, is to ‘give thanks’ in all circumstances (circumstances, got any?)
IS TO HAVE – a proper perspective.
A young girl wrote the following letter to her mom and dad from college,
"Dear Mom and Dad: Sorry I haven’t written sooner.
My arm really has been broken. I broke it, and my left leg, when I jumped from he second floor of my dormitory...when we had the fire.
We were lucky. A recently paroled drug dealer saw the blaze and called the Fire Department. They were there in minutes. I was in the hospital for a few days.
Paul, the paroled drug dealer, came to see me every day. And because it was taking so long to get our dormitory livable again, I moved in with him. He has been so nice. I must admit that I am pregnant. Paul and I plan to get married just as soon as he gets off parole.
I hope things are fine at home. I’m doing fine, and will write more when I get the chance. Love,
Your daughter, Emily
P.S. None of the above is true. But I did get a "D" in Sociology and flunked Chemistry. I just wanted you to receive this news in its "Proper Perspective!"
OKAY - let’s do this.
NOW - I want to read a passage from Luke 17, that will serve as the launch point for our conversation this morning.
As Jesus continued on toward Jerusalem,
Now this would be His last trip to Jerusalem... and is headed there to be arrested, beaten and nailed to a cross.
he reached the border between Galilee and Samaria. As he entered a village there, ten lepers stood at a distance, crying out, “Jesus, Master, have mercy on us!” He looked at them and said, “Go show yourselves to the priests.” And as they went, they were cleansed of their leprosy. One of them, when he saw that he was healed, came back to Jesus, shouting, “Praise God!” He fell to the ground at Jesus’ feet, thanking him for what he had done. This man was a Samaritan. Jesus asked, “Didn’t I heal ten men? Where are the other nine? Has no one returned to give glory to God except this foreigner?” And Jesus said to the man, “Rise and go; your faith has made you well.” - Luke 17:11-19
NOW – here is how I want to attack this conversation...
By unpacking 3 statements
1. Missing and Glory
2. Reasons to praise
3. The 35 Day Challenge
I. Missing and Glory
Jesus asked, “Didn’t I heal ten men? Where are the other nine? - Luke 17:17
NOW - when I read those words this week… the thing that initially hit was that….
a) Ingratitude Is Both Common and Ugly
IT’S COMMON - only 1 out of 10 lepers came back to thank Jesus. Just 10%. AND – to be honest, I am not sure that % has changed all that much in the last 2000 years…
YES – ingratitude is common, and it is ugly….
QUESTION – would you consider it an insult or a compliment to have someone say to you, “You are one of the most ungrateful people that I have ever met.”
NOW – I personally think that we have a lot to be grateful for… especially being Christians living in the USA…
HOWEVER – if we are honest I think many of us would have to admit that we at times suffer from the leprosy of ingratitude…
b) Perspective is so important in our thankfulness...
QUESTION...
What is that gets in the way of our thankfulness?
WELL - basically there are 4 attitudes that get in the way…
The attitude of entitlement
“Hey, I deserve this, they owe it to me…”
AND MGCC – here’s the deal...
• WHEN – our sense of entitlement is high, our thankfulness is low, and on the other hand...
• WHEN – our thankfulness is high, our sense of entitlement is low.
B/L – thanksgiving begins when our sense of entitlement ends…
YOU SEE – Thanksgiving reinterprets the situations in our lives, beginning with the baseline acknowledgement that we do not deserve any of what we’ve been given…
I MEAN… - it’s all a product of God’s grace… (every good and perfect gift comes from God... even the mental abilities that allow us to understand what I just said)…
B/S WHEN – we start with this frame of reference (that we do not deserve and are not entitled to anything we have been given)
IT’S HARD - for ingratitude to get a foothold.
Another attitude that obstructs our thankfulness is...
Pride
This is the attitude that says,
"Nobody ever gave me anything, I worked hard for everything I have." YES - for years we worked hard and now that hard work is finally paying off.
UNDERSTAND - with this kind of attitude, we feel that we have no one to thank but ourselves.
”I couldn’t have made it without me…”
Another attitude that keeps us from being thankful is a
A critical complaining spirit.
Ever seen one? Ever have one?
Refreshing and encouraging aren’t they?
YOU SEE - instead of being thankful, this person will always find something to complain about. I MEAN – they are experts at finding the cloud in every rainbow.
In the OT we read about the Israelites wandering in the wilderness grumbling and complaining because they had no food…
SO GOD - miraculously sent manna (a crust-like bread) to cover the ground each day except the Sabbath day. HOWEVER – before too long they started to grumble because it was the same thing every day.
I MEAN - they had a miracle - straight from God every day but they were no longer satisfied with it… and could only grumble and complain.
NOW – I am not so sure that we are all that different.
I MEAN – think about it... If Americans were at the feeding of the 5000 we would have complained about not having butter for the bread and lemon for their fish… and a couple of wet naps for cleaning up afterwards.
AGAIN - this critical complaining spirit is usually fueled by a lack of perspective….
QUESTION – ever complain about…
• There being too many clothes to wash
• Having a sink full of dishes to clean up and so much leftover food to put away after Thanksgiving dinner that you can barely jam it into the frig?
QUESTION – ever complain about…
• Your kids room always being in a mess
• Your house taking so long to clean
B/S – how crazy and ungrateful of us to grumble and complain about these kinds of things.
BECAUSE – they mean that we have: food and clothing, a home and children.
A 4th attitude that keeps us from being grateful is
Carelessness.
I don’t know about you, but I tend to take way too much for granted…
QUESTION – if the stars only came out once a year – would you go out on that night, to look at them…?
(Submarine – after about 60 days underwater we surfaced for about an hour... and I stood in line to see the sky)
UNDERSTAND - there are so many things in our lives that we take for granted…
AND – believe me when I tell you, the very moment that they are gone we would notice in a hurry.
I MEAN….
• turn off your hot water for a day
• or turn off the heat in the winter.
• Unplug your washing machine and drag everything to Laundromat.
• Disconnect the internet
• Leave your car in the driveway and walk everywhere for a week
• Tie a blindfold over your eyes for an entire day
• Go to a country for a month where Christians are being persecuted and where gathering like we are doing today could get you arrested, beaten or killed.
So many things in life we take for granted.
AND WHAT IF – today was the very last day you would ever have with your… spouse, kids, parents, friends, brother or sister…
QUESTION…
Is there someone whose presence in your life you have been taking for granted?
If you have a cell phone with you – go ahead right now and send them a text to let them know that you are thankful for them being in your life.
Giving Thanks Brings Glory To God
Jesus asked, “Didn’t I heal ten men? Where are the other nine? Has no one returned to give glory to God except this foreigner?” - Luke 17:18,19
I will praise God’s name in song and glorify Him with thanksgiving. – Psalm 69:30
UNDERSTAND – when we as God’s people consistently live lives of gratitude ‘in’ everything– we will bring honor and glory to God!
QUESTION – who do you think brings more glory and honor to God’s name?
• The person who is always thankful (even in difficult times), or
• The person who seems to gripe and complain about everything?
LIKE – which person: brings more glory to God... brings more honor and praise to His name?
MGCC – let’s be a people who overflow with thanksgiving and we will bring glory to God.
II. Reasons To Praise…
NOW UNDERSTAND – if we were to list all the reasons that we as God’s people have to be thankful, we would be here until 3:00 pm today…at least.
a) I’m Thankful For:The Mercy and Grace God Shows Me
WHAT is mercy? Not getting what we deserve.
WHAT is grace? Getting the opposite of what we deserve.
HEY CHECKOUT – what Paul writes to the church in Colosse
You used to be far from God. Your thoughts made you his enemies, and you did evil things. But his Son became a human and died. So God made peace with you, and now he lets you stand in his presence as people who are holy and faultless and innocent. – Colossians 1:21,22
When you were dead in your sins… God made you alive with Christ. He forgave us all our sins, He canceled the record of the charges against us and took it away by nailing it to the cross. In this way, he disarmed the spiritual rulers and authorities. He shamed them publicly by his victory over them on the cross. – Colossians 2:13,15
QUESTION…
• Are you thankful that God doesn’t give you what you deserve? (spiritual death, hell)
• And are you thankful that God gives you what you need (a savior, salvation freedom, forgiveness, grace)?
UNDERSTAND…
IF - our heart doesn’t explode with gratitude when we think about the mercy and grace of God…
THEN – we have obviously forgotten how bad off we were before we met Jesus. SO – let me remind us...
• We were dead... objects of God’s wrath.
• We were His enemies; We had no hope.
• We owed a mountain of debt (because of our sinful thoughts, attitudes, behaviors) that we could never pay!
UNDERSTAND MGCC …
BEFORE GRACE – we were lost and headed to a Christ-less eternity in hell not heaven. AND AGAIN - there was nothing we could do about it. Our debt was too BIG. We could never be good enough to earn our salvation.
BUT THEN – mercy and grace came riding in on a donkey, and later hanging on a cross… AND THEY – changed everything! And now He lets us stand in His presence as...
b) I am thankful for…The Relationship That God Wants To Have With Me
This letter is from Paul, chosen by the will of God to be an apostle of Christ Jesus, and from our brother Timothy. We are writing to God’s holy people in the city of Colosse, who are faithful brothers and sisters in Christ. May God our Father give you grace and peace. – Colossians 1:1,2
UNDERSTAND B/S - God did not just save us to punch our ticket to heaven, so that we would not go to hell –
He also saved us so that our relationship with Him, could be restored…. So that we could be His sons and daughters… yeah God!
QUESTION…
ARE YOU - thankful for the personal relationship that you can have with God?
ARE YOU - thankful that the One True God, the Creator of the Universe, the King of Kings and Lord of Lords ...
ARE YOU - thankful that God in His grace, came down from His throne, put on flesh, entered this world… AND HAS – given you an opportunity to have a personal relationship with Him – to hang out with Him, to get to know Him?
LISTEN - our God is not a God who is detached, distant and far off… INSTEAD – He is a God who desires to walk with us, take care of us… be with us and have our lives deeply connected to His…
Let your roots grow down into Him, and let your lives be built on Him. Then your faith will grow strong in the truth you were taught, and you will overflow with thankfulness.
– Colossians 2:6
AND B/S – here’s the deal...
WHEN – our roots are deep in Him, and our lives are built on Him... WE WILL – overflow with thanksgiving.
Thanks... what? ThanksGIVING
UNDERSTAND – genuine thanks is always expressed in our giving.
QUESTION – so how can we put some giving into our thanks? By giving God more of our:
praise, time, treasure, talent
So now we can rejoice in our wonderful new relationship with God because our Lord Jesus Christ has made us friends of God. – Romans 5:11,12
A third reason
c) I am thankful for The Purpose God Gives Me
UNDERSTAND - so many people live their lives without any purpose, without any direction…. They have no idea why they are here, where they are going OR what they are supposed to be doing. I used to live like that, BUT not any more… YOU SEE – I know that God has a purpose and a plan for my life, Paul talked about this in Colossians 1…
AFTER talking about who Jesus is…
• The image of the invisible God
• The one who created ALL things
• The who is before ALL things and who holds all things together…
• The one who has SUPREMACY in ALL things
AND AFTER – talking about what Jesus did
• Shed his blood and died on the cross to make peace with God
• Made a way to present all men (if they surrendered to Christ and His Gospel) holy, faultless and innocent in His sight.
Paul says…
So we tell others about Christ, warning everyone and teaching everyone with all the wisdom God has given us.
We want to present them to God, perfect in their relationship to Christ. That’s why I work and struggle so hard, depending on Christ’s mighty power that works within me. – Colossians 1:28.29
MGCC – I think for the most part many of us totally undersell the incredible mind-blowing opportunity we’ve been given?
An opportunity to partner with God in the most (significant, important, vital and meaningful) work on the planet...
Helping people get right with God – saving them from a Christ-less eternity
AND not only that but bringing people to place where they experience freedom and fullness of life now….
THINK ABOUT IT - we get to bring people to God and then we get to watch him do his God thing in their lives!!!!
YES – I am thankful for the purpose God has given me, to every day and in every way be His representative…
And whatever you do or say, do it as a representative of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks through him to God the Father. – Col 3:17
MGCC - I am thankful for…
1. The grace God shows me
2. The relationship God wants to have with me
3. The purpose God gives me
And 4th…
d) The Future God Has Planned For Me
CHECKOUT what John says about our future as Jesus followers in Revelation.
(hey if you are a JF and Revelation scares you, you are reading it wrong)
Then I saw “a new heaven and a new earth,” for the first heaven and the first earth had passed away, and there was no longer any sea. Then I saw New Jerusalem, that holy city, coming down from God in heaven. It was like a bride dressed in her wedding gown and ready to meet her husband.
I heard a loud voice shout from the throne: God’s home is now with his people. He will live with them, and they will be his own.
Yes, God will make his home among his people. He will wipe all tears from their eyes, and there will be no more death, suffering, crying, or pain. These things of the past are gone forever.
UNDERSTAND B/S – anything that has ever depressed you, discouraged you, defeated you... brough you pain, heartache or sorrow
ONE DAY – will be no more!
Then the one sitting on the throne said: I am making everything new. Write down what I have said. My words are true and can be trusted. - Revelation 21:1-5,
Come on B/S - doesn’t that future cause your heart to start beating a little faster?
WE ARE – headed home and Dorothy was right!
Since you have been raised to new life with Christ, set your sights on the realities of heaven, where Christ sits in the place of honor at God’s right hand. Think about the things of heaven, not the things of earth. For you died to this life, and your real life is hidden with Christ in God. And when Christ, who is your life, is revealed to the whole world, you will share in all his glory. – Colossians 3:1-4
5th I’m thankful for;
e) The Changes God Is Making In Me
UNDERSTAND - I am so thankful that back in December of 1979 when I surrendered to Christ (in faith and repentance and was baptized into His name) that God because of His great love for me accepted me just as I was (and I wasn’t so good)…
BUT – do you know what?
I am just as thankful that because of His great love for me – that God did not leave me the way He found me….
YES – I am grateful that I am not the same person I used to be… AND – I am grateful for the person that I have yet to become…. Because He’s still working on me.
Stationed in South Carolina (the first church I ever attended as a Jesus-follower) a little girl about 7 or 8 sang this song in church, with the one of the deepest southern accents I had ever heard.
He's still working on me. To make me what I ought to be
It took him just a week to make the moon and stars
The sun and the earth and Jupiter and Mars
How loving and patient He must be
'Cause He's still workin' on me
According to legend an awestruck admirer looked at Michelangelo’s finished statue of David and asked the great artist how it had done it. To which Michelangelo replied:
“David was always in the marble. I just chipped away everything, that was not David.
YOU SEE – in December of 1979, God took a 19 year kid in the Navy named Steve Malone saved him from his sin, gave him a living hope and then God the master artist began chipping away at my life, molding me, shaping me, changing me, making me different…and praise the Lord – He is not through with me yet…
YES – I am on my way to I becoming all that God desires and wants for me… “Steve was always in the marble, you were always in the marble.” Don’t give up – He is not done!
Not that I have already reached the goal or am already fully mature, but I make every effort to take hold of it because I also have been taken hold of by Christ Jesus. Brothers, I do not consider myself to have taken hold of it. But one thing I do: Forgetting what is behind and reaching forward to what is ahead, I pursue as my goal the prize promised by God’s heavenly call in Christ Jesus. – Philippians 3:12-14
YES…
I am thankful for
• The grace God has shown me
• The relationship God wants with me
• The purpose God gives me
• The future God has planned for me
• The changes God is making in me
AND… the last two will be pretty quick, but I just had to mention it…
f) I’m thankful for; The Peace God Can Give Me
Which is quite a gift as I live in this world of trouble...
Where the winds blow and the waters rise.
Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus. – Philippians 4:6,7
g) I’m thankful for; His Church that I can be part of
So those who accepted his message were baptized, and that day about 3,000 people were added to them. And they devoted themselves to the apostles’ teaching, to the fellowship, to the breaking of bread, and to the prayers... Now all the believers were together and held all things in common. They sold their possessions and property and distributed the proceeds to all, as anyone had a need. Every day they devoted themselves to meeting together in the temple complex, and broke bread from house to house. They ate their food with a joyful and humble attitude, praising God and having favor with all the people. And every day the Lord added to them those who were being saved. – Acts 2:42-47
III. The 35 day Challenge
One of them, when he saw that he was healed, came back to Jesus, shouting, “Praise God!” 16 He fell to the ground at Jesus’ feet, thanking him for what he had done. This man was a Samaritan. Jesus asked, “Didn’t I heal ten men? Where are the other nine? Has no one returned to give glory to God except this foreigner?” And Jesus said to the man, “Stand up and go. Your faith has healed you.”
“Stand up and go. Your faith has healed you.”
QUESTION – hadn’t Jesus already completely healed this guy like the other 9 who didn’t come back to thank Him?
SO – what is Jesus talking about when he says,
“Stand up and go. Your faith has healed you.”
CHECK THIS OUT - the Greek word translate ‘heal’ in verse 19 is not the same word used in verse 17… In verse 19 Jesus uses a word that means –
‘to save, true wellness – complete wholeness…’
OKAY – here is what I think is going on here…
This guy was already ‘cleansed’ physically of his leprosy
BUT HE - was made whole – complete, well… when he returned and gave thanks…
AND LISTEN – many psychological studies have been done that tell us the same thing…
THAT - sincere gratitude, thanksgiving, is the healthiest of all human emotions…
THAT – it produces more positive emotional energy than any other attitude in life.
AND AGAIN – Jesus says that it is essential to true wellness, complete wholes and the full experience of our salvation.
GET IT?
QUESTION…
BUT HOW – do we become people who just overflow with thanksgiving?
WELL – it takes practice…. AND – the best way to practice thanksgiving is to actually write down things that you are thankful for on a regular basis….
THAT – is what the ’35 day Challenge’ is all about.
NOW – we did something like this, a few years back, but I think we need to do it again…
Because it is so easy for us to allow the leprosy of ingratitude to take over our lives…
UNDERSTAND- research indicates that people who actually recorded things that they are thankful for…
• Had higher levels of alertness, enthusiasm, optimism, attentiveness, energy,
• They were more motivated, more likable, more others oriented, more forgiving, more generous, more helpful, more likely to volunteer and more likely to give back.
• And they had a much greater positive attitude towards life
QUESTION…
What city, what community, what family, what church doesn't need that.
MGCC
Thanksgiving - is a powerful weapon against the enemy and against the darkness.
THANKSGIVING - amplifies goodness so we can hear the voice of God…
THANKSGIVING - amplifies the light of God so that we can see the face of God in the midst of our darkness.
THANKSGIVING – is thanking God in advance for what will only make sense in reverse.
THANKSGIVING – is a key weapon that brings freedom, a weapon that brings victory, and a connection to limitless joy in all circumstances…
THANKSGIVING - is a pathway to the fuller life – to the joyful life.
YOU SEE… Being joyful is not what makes us thankful.
Rather, being thankful is what makes us joyful.
THANKFULNESS - as I already said is a weapon that overcomes the darkness.
I MEAN – Jesus (our Lord, Savior, King and Example)
WHEN HE - was staring in the very face of evil (on the night of His arrest) what does he do?
He gives thanks….
While they were eating, Jesus took bread, and when he had given thanks, he broke it and gave it to his disciples, saying, “Take and eat; this is my body.”
Then he took a cup, and when he had given thanks, he gave it to them, saying, “Drink from it, all of you.
– Matthew 26:26-28
In the original language “gave thanks” reads eucharisteo. The root word of eucharisteo is charis, meaning “grace.” Jesus took the bread and the cup and saw it as grace and gave thanks.
Eucharist
IF JESUS - can give thanks in this… THEN - we can give thanks in anything.
IF JESUS - chooses gratitude as a foundational weapon to destroy evil, push back the darkness and advance God’s good, can you think of a better weapon?
SO AGAIN – the 35 Day Challenge is to for the next 35 days beginning today, each day write down things that you are thankful for and see what happens….
AND LISTEN – they can be simple things like…
Raindrops on roses and whiskers on kittens
Bright copper kettles and warm woolen mittens
Brown paper packages tied up with strings
These are a few of my favorite things
Cream colored ponies and crisp apple streudels
Doorbells and sleigh bells and schnitzel with noodles
Wild geese that fly with the moon on their wings
These are a few of my favorite things
Girls in white dresses with blue satin sashes
Snowflakes that stay on my nose and eyelashes
Silver white winters that melt into springs
These are a few of my favorite things
When the dog bites
When the bee stings
When I'm feeling sad
I simply remember my favorite things
And then I don't feel so bad
A missionary was serving as a doctor in a medical mission in India for many years. In the region where he was there was progressive blindness. People were born with healthy vision, but there was something in that area that caused people to lose their sight as they matured."
But this missionary had developed a process which would arrest progressive blindness. So people came to him, he performed his operation, & they would leave realizing that they would have become blind, but now they were going to be able to see for the rest of their lives, because of him..
He said that they never said, "Thank you," NOT – because they were not grateful… BUT - because that phrase was not in their dialect. Instead, they spoke a word that meant, "I will tell your name." Wherever they went, they would tell the name of the missionary who had cured their blindness.”
God has done some awesome things for YOU… And one way you say thank you is to tell others about what he has done for you – is to tell His name” wherever you go…
Whatever you do or say, do it as a representative of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through Him…
Col 3:17
