This week we celebrate Thanksgiving. Thanksgiving is a date on our calendar which we celebrate every year. If we are not careful, thanksgiving can become nothing more than a date on the calendar. God expects more!
Joke: One Thanksgiving season a family was seated around their table looking at the holiday bird. From the oldest to the youngest, they were to express their praise. When they came to the 5-year-old, he began by looking at the turkey and expressing his thanks for the turkey. After that he gave thanks for his mother for cooking the turkey and his father for buying the turkey. But then he went beyond the immediate. He gave thanks for everybody who helped get the turkey to their table. He said, "I thank you for the checker at the grocery store who checked out the turkey. I thank you for the grocery store people who put it on the shelf. I thank you for the farmer who made it fat. I thank you for the man who made the feed. I thank you for those who brought the turkey to the store." Using his imaginative mind, he traced the turkey all the way from its origin to his plate. And then at the end he solemnly said "Did I leave anybody out?" His 2-year-older brother, embarrassed by all those proceedings, said, "God." Solemnly and without being flustered at all, the 5-year-old said, "I was about to get to him." Well, isn’t that the question about which we ought to think at Thanksgiving? Are we really going to get to him this Thanksgiving?
[Getting Around to God, Citation: Joel Gregory, "The Unlikely Thanker," Preaching Today, Tape No. 110.]
(Contributed to Sermon Central by A. Todd Coget)
Thanksgiving day should be a day when we get around to God. However, it should be more than that! Thanksgiving should be more than a day. The Bible helps us understand this truth. In Eph. 5:18-20 the apostle Paul discusses this truth. “Don’t be drunk with wine, because that will ruin your life. Instead, be filled with the Holy Spirit, singing psalms and hymns and spiritual songs among yourselves, and making music to the Lord in your hearts. And give thanks for everything to God the Father in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ.” (NLT) As you examine these verses it becomes obvious that thanksgiving was intended to be much more than a date on the calendar. Lets look at the passage to discover the important place thanksgiving should hold in our hearts. There are two principles I want you to see.
I. The first principle is: thanksgiving is a part of the larger purpose behind our lives. What is the larger purpose behind our lives? Listen to these verses that describe our purpose.
“For everything, absolutely everything, above and below, visible and invisible,…everything got started in him and finds its purpose in Him.Col. 1:16 (MSG)
“For God saved us and called us to live a holy life. He did this, not because we deserved it, but because that was his plan from before the beginning of time—to show us his grace through Christ Jesus.” II Tim. 1:9 (NLT)
The purpose of our lives is to enjoy a relationship with, glorify and worship God. We are seeking to teach people this truth. The very first phrase in our purpose statement is: “The purpose of Faith Baptist Church is to glorify God.” That is it! That is all! We may do other things but the ultimate purpose in our lives is to glorify God.
We find this truth in Exo. 9:16 “But indeed for this purpose I have raised you up, that I may show My power in you, and that My name may be declared in all the earth.” (NKJV) Some people have not discovered this truth.
Joke: A visiting farmer stopped at a city restaurant to eat lunch. When he was served his food he bowed his head and gave thanks to the Lord. Some uncouth guys sitting at a nearby table noticed the farmer’s prayer and shouted, “Hey, pops, back where you come from does everybody pray before they eat?” Their laughter was silenced when the old farmer answered, “Everybody but the pigs”
(Illustration # 870 in Something to Think About. Raymond McHenry)
Jesus lived His life to glorify God and he did it by giving thanks in all that He did. When Jesus taught His disciples to partake of communion He gave thanks before sharing the elements (Mt. 26:41). When Jesus raised Lazarus from the dead He gave thanks before performing the miracle (Jn. 11:41). When Jesus fed the multitude He gave thanks before feeding the multitude (Jn. 6). Jesus lived to glorify God. A person who lives to glorify God will do so by making thanksgiving a regular part of their life.
II. The second principle is: thanksgiving is the result of a new perspective on life. We find this illustrated in Acts 16. Paul and Silas had gone to the city of Philippi. They shared Jesus with a lady named Lydia. Next they met a slave girl who was possessed with an evil spirit. The slave girl followed them around for several days taunting and throwing scorn toward the work of God. Paul finally turned to her and commanded the evil spirit to come out. He said “I command you in the name of Jesus Christ to come out of her.” (16:18 NKJV) The girl’s slave owners were angered because Paul destroyed their opportunity for profit. They stirred up an angry crowd and accused Paul and Silas of being trouble makers. The authorities threw them into prison. What a turn of fortune, Paul and Silas were serving God but ended up in prison. Just because you serve God does not mean everything will go in a positive direction. Most people would be discouraged by a time in prison but not Paul and Silas. In Acts 16:25 we read these words “at midnight Paul and Silas were praying and singing hymns to God, and the prisoners were listening to them.” Paul and Silas were not discouraged. They were not defeated. They focused on worshipping God. They had a unique perspective.
Perspective is important. A college student wrote her mother the following letter in order to change her perspective.
"Dear Mom: Sorry I haven’t written sooner. My arm really has been broken. I broke it, and my left leg, when I jumped from the second floor of my dormitory...when we had the fire. We were lucky. A young service station attendant saw the blaze and called the Fire Department. They were there in minutes. I was in the hospital for a few days. Paul, the service station attendant, came to see me every day. Because it was taking so long to get our dormitory liveable 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 can get a divorce. I hope things are fine at home. I’m doing fine, and will write more when I get the chance.
Love,
Your daughter, Susie
P.S. None of the above is true. But I did get a "C" in Sociology and flunked Chemistry. I just wanted you to receive this news in its "Proper Perspective!"
Henry Frost served for many years as a missionary to China. In his journal he wrote of a very difficult time in his life. He says, "I had received sad news from home, and deep shadows had covered my soul. I prayed BUT the darkness did not vanish. I summoned myself to endure, BUT the darkness only deepened. Then I went to an inland station and saw on the wall of the mission home these words: ’TRY THANKSGIVING.’ I did, and in a moment every shadow was gone, not to return.
Perspective matters! In our text we see how thanksgiving can give a new perspective. Notice what the Bible teaches.
A. We are to give thanks at “all times.” We are to give thanks in the good times and the bad. We are to give thanks when we feel good and when we feel bad. We are to give thanks when things are going well and when things are not going so well.
Illustration: A pastor by the name of Jack Hinton from New Bern, North Carolina shared a touching story in a publication of the International Mission Board (formerly the Foreign Mission Board) several years back. Pastor Hinton said he was on a mission trip on the island of Tobago. While there he lead worship in a leper colony. They were nearing the end of the service and had time for one more song so they asked for a request. He said the lady who made the request had been facing away from the pulpit. The pastor said her face “was the most hideous face I had every seen.” The woman’s nose and ears were entirely gone. The disease had destroyed her lips as well. She lifted a fingerless hand in the air and asked, “Can we sing Count Your Many Blessings?” That lady had a tremendous perspective. She was able to give thanks at “all times.”
(The Pastor’s Update. Foreign Mission Board, SBC)
B. We are to give thanks in “all things.” One of the most inspiring examples of this is the Old Testament character Joseph. Joseph was given a dream, by God, of a coming disaster that would affect the lives of the Israelite people. Joseph would be a key player that God would use in facing the disaster. In order for that to happen Joseph must rise to become one of the primary leaders in Egypt. As Joseph revealed his dream to his brothers they became jealous and thought Joseph was being arrogant. They did not realize Joseph’s dream was coming from God. In their jealousy Joseph’s brothers sold him as a slave to a group of slave traders who sold him as a slave in Egypt. While in Egypt he worked himself up through the ranks and became one of the leading government officials in Egypt. True to his dream, Joseph was able to provide for the Israelite people because of God’s working in his life. Joseph was able to thank God, even for his slavery, because he saw the hand of God in it. There is a verse of scripture that believers down through the ages have claimed during tough times. “And we know that all things work together for good to those who love God, to those who are the called according to His purpose.” Rom. 8:28 (TMSG)
Illustration: I heard about a Sunday School teacher that asked her class for what they were thankful. One little boy said, “my glasses.” “Why are you thankful for your glasses?” the teacher asked. (She knew most boys hated wearing glasses.) “Because they keep the boys from fighting me and the girls from kissing me,” the boy replied.
(Proclaim Magazine. October-December 96. P. 34)
I said it once and I will say it again. Perspective matters!
Consider this example. A pilot flies over mountainous terrain and as he flies, he looks down and sees two vehicles driving down the highway. The first vehicle is a semi-trailer, slowly pulling his load up and down that steep terrain. The second vehicle is a sports car driven by a guy who’s got better things to do than be stuck behind a semi that can’t maintain the speed limit up the mountain grades. The pilot can see some things that the drivers cannot see. The primary thing he sees is that the car could easily pass the truck with no danger. The problem is that neither the truck nor the car driver can see ahead. They only see what’s in front of them. They can’t see the big picture.
Life is like that. We only see things from the perspective of the created, not the Creator. We don’t see the big picture. Only God sees the big picture.
(Contributed to Sermon Central by Brian La Croix)
John McArthur says there are three levels of thankfulness. The first is to be thankful when we are blessed. When things are going well or God grants an especially welcome benefit, we are happy and grateful. When getting a job, being delivered from sickness, being reconciled with our spouse, or experiencing other such pleasant things, it is easy to be grateful to the Lord. It is right to be thankful for blessings, as the Bible continually commands us to be.
The second level of thankfulness is that of being grateful for the hope, blessing and victory yet to come. The first level is after the fact, the second is in anticipation of the fact. Thanking God before a blessing is more difficult than thanking Him afterward, and requires more faith and spiritual maturity. This second level is where faith and hope begin, because it involves the unseen and the yet unexperienced. As He stood over the tomb of Lazarus, Jesus prayed, “Father, I thank Thee that Thou heardest Me. And I knew that Thou hearest Me always; but because of the people standing around I said it, that they may believe that Thou didst send Me” (John 11:41-42). Because He knew His heavenly Father always heard and answered His prayers, in total confidence He thanked Him in advance for what He knew would be done. The believer at this level of thankfulness looks forward to victory before it is achieved. He looks forward even to his own death or the death of a loved one and gives thanks to God, knowing that His grace is sufficient for every sorrow and every testing and that glorious resurrection awaits those who die in the Lord. He lives in hope.
The third level of thankfulness is thanking God in the midst of the battle, while we are still undergoing trouble or testing—and even when it looks like we are failing or being overwhelmed. Being thankful is not a Christian option, a high order of living that we are free to choose or disregard. As Joni Eareckson Tada, a quadriplegic author, has observed, “Giving thanks is not a matter of feeling thankful, it is a matter of obedience.”
(John McArthur’s commentary on Ephesians)
To be able to thank God in the midst of the battle is beyond human capacity. Our mind cannot fathom such victory. Only God can give us that perspective. There is an important phrase in this passage we dare not overlook. Look at verse 20 in its totality. “And give thanks for everything to God the Father in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ.” (NLT). There is one little word that tells the story about perspective. The word is “in.” Our perspective changes completely when we are “in” Jesus Christ. The key to finding our life purpose and finding God’s perspective is when we are indwelt by Jesus Christ. This is clear as we examine the context of Ephesians 5. In this passage we are commanded to be “filled with the Holy Spirit.” To be “filled with the Holy Spirit” means we are indwelt by the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit’s presence comes into our lives when we receive Jesus Christ. Paul gives a command to be filled with the Spirit as opposed to being drunk with wine. Paul’s point is that wine influences and directs the life of the person who drinks it. Even so, God desires that we be under His influence. That occurs when we are indwelt by Him. When we are indwelt by Him we are influenced by Him. That is the key to a victorious Christian life. We must be indwelt by God if we are to honor his name. We must have Jesus as our Lord and Savior if we are to have the capacity to praise God. His indwelling is crucial to a life of thanksgiving.
