>>Introduction<<
Thanksgiving has always been one of my favorite times of year
One of my earliest childhood memories is waking up on thanksgiving day
Smelling the food
Family coming over
No regular schedule
I have a distinct memory of waking up and smelling the food and hearing voices in the house that I didn’t normally hear and wondering what was going on…
It has always been part of one of the most jubilant and celebratory times of the year
Beginning at thanksgiving and ending on new years day.
Winter officially began for me on this day
I lived for five years in New York as a child and always had allot of snow
This is where I learned to love winter.
But as I’ve gotten older I have noticed some other attitudes creeping
There is an impatience that wants to take over
There is a cynicism that wants to take over
I have noticed that I am not the only one
People of all ages are affected… and it permeates the season
I believe that the positioning of this holiday by godly men became the wisdom of God for positioning our hearts attitude throughout the season
There were three things that came to me that demonstrate or comes from the attitude of thanksgiving
>>Three things that are at the heart of thanksgiving<<
1) The heart of simplicity
Acts 2:44-47
a) Simplicity has three different meanings
•In one place it speaks to wisdom
2 Cor. 1:12 “we conducted ourselves in the world in simplicity”
•Another place it means singleness in the sense of sincerity
2 Cor. 11:3 “I fear, lest… your minds may be corrupted from the simplicity that is in Christ”
•In this scripture it literally means “not stubbing your foot on a stone”
Hence, it means ‘smoothness’
Only place this greek word appears in scripture
b) Three avenues of simplicity we should choose
•Simplicity from the complications of life
We live life on an unprecedented complicated level
There are reasons for this:
Our business masks our wounds - From us and from others
Our business disguises our guilt
Our business covers up our neediness - For relationship and the time needed for relationship
•Simplicity from the humility of choosing to live absent of pride or arrogance
We like to think that we have no pride or arrogance
I would disagree
It is pride and arrogance that causes us to substitute business for healing, forgiveness and provision.
The life of pride and arrogance lead the same path as the fool
Psalms: “The fool has said in his heart there is no God”
When we do not simply our lives we are saying the same thing
•Simplicity from the singularity of a focused purpose
The KJV translates this passage as “singleness of heart”
These people were new believers and had come into a new purpose for living.
This mentality gave way to:
A ruling priority
A reason for living aside from and superior to the daily grind
What they were converted from
We tend to be converted to
2) The heart of a giver- 2 Cor. 9:6-8
Three postures of a grateful giver
a) Principle
v6 - “He who sows sparingly will also reap sparingly, and he who sows bountifully will also reap bountifully”
Understanding the principle of giving generates an attitude of gratefulness
b) Purpose
v7 - “Let each one give as he purposes in his heart, not grudgingly or of necessity; for God loves a cheerful giver.”
What a picture of giving out of thankfulness:
•Purpose
-Not grudgingly
-Not for needs
•Cheerful
The attitude of thanksgiving IS giving
b) Provision
v8 - “God is able to make all grace abound toward you, that you, always having all sufficiency in all things, may have an abundance for every good work.”
Three key words here
-Abound
-Sufficiency
-Abundance
God provides for us so we can provide for others
3) The heart of peace - Col 3:15-17
a)Thankfulness in relationships
•In Our Hearts: The peace of God
Thankfulness gives us His peace
Phil 4:7 - “And the God of peace shall keep your hearts and minds”
•In Our Harmony: The word of Christ
When the Word of Christ dwells in us richly, then we can teach and admonish one another in the harmony of the Spirit that supersedes talent.
It comes from His grace
We can look at this passage and limit it to our singing
But if you catch the fulness of the context it is as much about the harmony of our relationships through His indwelling Word
The word of the Lord is not meant to be a battle ax that we use on one another
In so many places it is
•In Our Honor: My words and deeds
Everything that you do and say reflect your heart of worship
-Thankfulness is the primer for learning to worship
We learn how to worship by being thankful
-Thankfulness is the primer for beginning our worship
It “wets” your palette leaving you wanting more
It is much like the old fashioned hand pumps
-Thankfulness is the primary content of our worship
>>In the end<<
1) 2 Tim. 3:1-2 (Take this scripture out of the context of eschatology for a moment) - What can it say to how we live now?
a) Unthankfulness is a final days operation in our lives: "In the last days"
•Unthankfulness leads us into perilous times
v1 “perilous times will come”
•Unthankfulness places us in bad company.
vv2-5a
•Unthankfulness isolates us
v 5b “from such people turn away”
b) When you read this in it’s true context it gives you a perspective that separate these verses from a single-minded view of “the end of time”
•v9 They will progress no further (it is a last days for them)
Their folly will be manifest to all (whose folly was also manifested)
•v13 Evil men… will grow worse and worse (continue)
You must continue in the things you have learned
2) Our attitude towards the unthankful
a) Sometimes out of a presumptuous or even faulty eschatology, we can have a wrong attitude towards people who need the grace of God in their lives
A kind of “You’re gonna get yours!” mentality
b) Listen to Jesus’ mentality: Luke 6:35
“But love your enemies, do good, and lend, hoping for nothing in return; and your reward will be great, and you will be sons of the Most High. For He is kind to the unthankful and evil.”
3) Let us go into this season as our Lord.
