From Thanksgiving to Thanksliving
1 Chronicles 16
Rev. Brian Bill
11/23/08
There’s something within us that resists giving thanks, isn’t there? It’s far easier to complain and be in conflict than it is to live a life of thanks. I’d like to propose that we can control our complaining to the extent we are actively involved in thanksliving. Or, to say it another way: When we acknowledge the presence of Jesus, our lives can move from a forecast of friction to a lifestyle of thanksliving.
Have you checked the forecast for Thursday? You might not have seen this on the Weather Channel, in the Pantagraph, the Daily Leader, or even on one of Tom Skilling’s multifaceted maps that show intriguing isobars (whatever those are). I’m glad you came this morning because I’ve just received the latest forecast for Thanksgiving Day.
Turkeys will thaw in the morning, then warm in the oven to an afternoon high near 190 degrees. The kitchen will turn hot and humid, and if you bother the cook, be ready for a severe squall or cold shoulder.
During the late afternoon and evening, the cold front of a knife will slice through the turkey, causing an accumulation of one to two inches on plates. Mashed potatoes will drift across one side while cranberry sauce creates slippery spots on the other.
A weight watch and indigestion warning have been issued for the entire area, with increased stuffiness around the beltway. During the evening, the turkey will diminish and taper off to leftovers, dropping to a low of 34 degrees in the refrigerator.
Looking ahead to Friday and Saturday, high pressure to eat sandwiches will be established. Flurries of leftovers can be expected both days with a 50 percent chance of scattered soup late in the day. By early next week, eating pressure will be low as the only wish left will be the bone (taken from www.mikeysfunnies.com).
Friends, we can forecast our future faithfulness based upon whether (pun intended) we gravitate toward grumbling or we’re growing in gratitude for God’s amazing grace. We’re faced with a dilemma in this regard because most of us are natural born grumblers and a few of us are year-round residents at “Camp Complaining.” Many of us whine more than we worship and we gripe more than we express gratitude.
Please turn in your Bibles to 1 Chronicles 16. The purpose of Chronicles is to explain the events of history and to set the record for families as they re-entered the land of promise. If you want to do some extra reading, much of this chapter also shows up in Psalm 105. The Ark of the Covenant, which symbolized the presence of God, is being brought back into the center of life. For a long time, God had not been front and center in the life of Israel. I suspect that some of us have drifted spiritually as well. It’s time to get the Lord back as the focal point of our lives.
The opening verses tell us that after the Ark was brought back, the people presented “burnt offerings” and “fellowship offerings” before God. After the offerings were made to God, part of what was offered went to the Almighty, part went to the priests and the final portion was given to the family for a three-day Thanksgiving feast (unfortunately no football was included).
We read in verses 2-3 that David “blessed the people in the name of the Lord. Then he gave a loaf of bread, a cake of dates and a cake of raisins to each Israelite man and woman.” Because David made these offerings, he was entitled to eat this Thanksgiving meal by himself but instead he shared it with “each” man and woman. While we might not think much of a loaf of bread and some fruitcake, the key is that David shared his plenty with those who did not have much.
We did this as church this month through Operation Christmas Child and the Caring Closet. And now we’re going to focus on Project Angel Tree as we purchase gifts for children of prisoners in this area. There’s also a group of people from PBC who are putting together Christmas meals for those in need. If you want to help with this, let me know.
Look with me at verse 4: “He appointed some of the Levites to minister before the ark of the Lord, to make petition, to give thanks, and to praise the Lord, the God of Israel.” Verses 5-6 tells us that this praise was intended to be jubilant – lyres, harps, cymbals and trumpets were used. David put a worship team together and they helped the people do three things. These three words serve as a framework for this chapter.
* Praying – “to make petition.”
* Praising – “to praise the Lord, the God of Israel.”
* Proclaiming – “to give thanks.”
1. Praying. Verse 11 says: “Look to the Lord and his strength; seek His face always.” Drop down to verse 35 where we read of an urgent petition: “Save us, O God our Savior…” Let’s pause and pray right now.
2. Praising. In verse 4, the word “praise” means “to shine or boast.” In verses 8-12, we see what we’re supposed to do. I’ve underlined 10 key phrases.
8 Give thanks to the LORD, call on his name; make known among the nations what he has done.
* The Hebrew word for thanks means “to throw, or cast.” It refers to the openness of the hand after it has thrown something. The idea is that we come to God with extended hands that are empty because we’ve just “pitched praises” to Him! That’s what we’re going to do in a few minutes – we’re going to “throw thanksgiving” to God!
* The word “call” means to cry out properly, with reverence. It’s when we give God an invitation to sit at our table, to walk with us, and to be at the very center of our lives.
* To “make known” reminds us that we’re not to keep the good news a secret; we’ve been made for a mission! Specifically that means that we should throw thanks to God as we take the gospel to the whole globe. Our first “Go Global Group” met on Friday night and 20 people came to encourage and pray for each other regarding missions.
9 Sing to him, sing praise to him; tell of all his wonderful acts.
* Once we comprehend all that God has done, we can’t help but break out into song.
* “Tell” carries with it the idea of “pondering.” Before we can proclaim, we must ponder.
10 Glory in his holy name; let the hearts of those who seek the LORD rejoice.
* The word “glory” means, “to shine or boast, to rave, revel, enjoy and celebrate.” This is part of the word “hallelujah.”
* “Rejoice” means to “brighten up!”
11 Look to the LORD and his strength; seek his face always.
* To “look” means to “glance” at Him.
* To “seek” means to “to search out.”
* In the Hebrew text there is a progression of intensity in this verse. To “look” is a general term; to “seek” is a passionate action. We glance at Him, then we gaze at Him and then we go after Him!
12 Remember the wonders he has done, his miracles, and the judgments he pronounced,
* To “remember” means “to mark.” We are told repeatedly in Scripture to rehearse what God has done because most of us forget way too easily. We need to mark in our minds what God has done in the past so we can trust him in the present and have hope for the future.
Drop down to verses 30-31 where we learn how to praise.
30 Tremble before him, all the earth! The world is firmly established; it cannot be moved.
* To “tremble” means to “twist or whirl; to writhe in pain.” God does not want us to be passive in our praise. Like Isaiah said in Isaiah 6:5, we should cry out, “I’m coming undone in your presence.”
31 Let the heavens rejoice, let the earth be glad; let them say among the nations, ‘The LORD reigns!’
* Interestingly, “to rejoice” means to spin around with happiness. We go from shaking to spinning when we understand both His majesty and His mercy. We should shudder because of His awesome power and we should rejoice because we’re not consumed. We must always balance an attitude of reverence with an attitude of rejoicing.
We pray and we praise and then we proclaim.
3. Proclaiming. The word “thanks” appears six times in this passage and I want to draw our attention to verse 34 because it’s really the summary verse of the entire psalm: “Give thanks to the Lord, for he is good; his love endures forever.” We throw thanks to God because of His great goodness and His everlasting love.
1 Thessalonians 5:18 says that it is God’s will that we “give thanks in all circumstances.” Now, if you’re at all like me, it’s easy to forget how much the Lord has done for us. Isn’t it funny how we can remember to complain but space out when it comes to having gratitude for His grace in our lives? Are you gravitating toward grumbling? Are you tempted to tangle with God about the things that are happening in your life? Has the Gripe Bug bit you? If so, how do you get over a sour spirit?
Rudyard Kipling, the author of the Jungle Book, had a fortune when he was alive. A reporter came up to him once and said, “Mr. Kipling, I just read that somebody calculated that the money you make from your writings amounts to over a hundred dollars a word.” The reporter then reached into his pocket, pulled out a one hundred dollar bill, and said, “Mr. Kipling, can you give me one of your hundred dollar words?” Kipling looked at the money, put it in his pocket and said, “Thanks!”
“Thanks” is a hundred dollar word, isn’t it? Actually, it’s more like a million dollar word! We’re going to spend some time throwing thanks in a few minutes but first we’re going to sing. As the team comes up on the stage, let me point out from verse 36 that “All the people said ‘Amen’ and ‘Praise the Lord.’” That means that we’re all to be praise participants. Let’s stand and sing “Blessed Be Your Name.”
Singing Time #1
Blessed Be Your Name
Now Thank We All Our God
Come Thou Fount of Every Blessing
God is the source of all blessing, isn’t He? If we pause to think, we’ll have cause to thank. You and I are the objects of God’s grace; let’s let Him be the object of our gratitude because His giving deserves our thanksgiving. Let’s turn our thanksgiving into a time of Thanksliving right now as we “throw some thanks” to God.
Let’s follow the ABC’s of sharing…
* Audible
* Brief
* Christ-centered
Sharing Time #1
Singing Time #2
He Has Made Me Glad
Worthy is the Lamb
We have much to thank Him for because He is worthy. Some of us struggle to think of things to be thankful for. I’m reminded of Charlie Brown bringing out Snoopy’s usual dinner on Thanksgiving Day. Snoopy takes one look at the food and says, “That’s not fair. The rest of the world is eating turkey with all the trimmings and all I get is this dog food. Because I’m a dog, all I get is dog food.” As he stares at his food, he thinks for a moment and says, “I guess it could be worse. I could be a turkey.”
Sharing Time #2
As Elders we’ve become convinced that we must do all we can to fortify families in this church and in our community. Check out the last verse in 1 Chronicles 16: “Then all the people left, each for his own home, and David returned home to bless his family.”
We must do more than celebrate Thanksgiving; we must be surrendered to Thanksliving. What we learn here weekly must be lived out at home daily. Parents, our role is to return home and “bless our families.” As a way to help you put your family first, we will be handing out a Thanksgiving Object Lesson Bag that will enable you to have some focused time around the table before you take on the turkey. I’m reminded of what Jesus did in John 6:11 – before distributing the miraculous multiplication of bread and fish, he first “gave thanks.”
It doesn’t really matter whether the weather forecast is fair or foul on Thanksgiving; what matters is whether we’re going to be involved in Thanksliving.
Closing Song: How Great is our God
