SPECIAL DAY: THANKSGIVING
“A HYMN FOR HIM”
PSALM 100
OPEN
An atheist was walking through the woods, admiring all the “accidents” that evolution had produced. He was awed by the majestic trees, the powerful river, and beauty of the woodland animals.
As he was walking alongside the river, he heard a rustling in the bushes behind him. He turned to look and saw a huge grizzly bear charging towards him. He ran away as fast as he could go.
He turned to look over his shoulder and saw that the grizzly was closing the distance. Somehow, he summoned some more speed. The fear was driving him onward – tears running down his cheeks, heart pounding in his chest.
The atheist turned and looked again. The bear was almost upon him. He tried to go faster but tripped and fell to the ground. He rolled over to pick himself up but the bear was right over him. The bear’s left paw touched his chest and held him to the ground. The bear’s right paw was raised for the strike. At that instant, the atheist cried out, “My God, help me!!”
Time stopped. The bear froze. The forest was silent. Even the river stopped moving. A bright light shone down on the man and a voice from the sky said, “You deny my existence for all these years, tell other people that I don’t exist, and even credit this beautiful creation to a cosmic accident. Do you expect me to help you out of this predicament? Do you now expect me to count you as a believer?”
The atheist looked directly up into the light and said, “I would feel like a hypocrite to become a Christian after all these years, but perhaps you could make the bear a Christian?” The voice said, “Very well.”
The light disappeared. The river started to run. The sounds of the forest resumed. The bear dropped his right paw, pulled the left paw back from the atheist’s chest, and brought both paws together. The bear bowed its head and said, “Lord, for this food which I am about to receive, I am truly thankful.”
Ps. 100:1-5 – “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.”
Our text this morning was written as a song of praise and worship. It was used by the children of God in the Old Testament to express their joyful thanksgiving for having such a wonderful and loving God to serve.
The 100th Psalm was written for the people of Israel. God said to them: “When you come into the Promised Land and settle down in your warm homes, and you have plenty to eat – don’t forget about Me. I led you out of slavery and out of the wilderness and I brought you into a land flowing with milk and honey.” But it didn’t take very long for the people of Israel to need a reminder. And I’m afraid that we need some reminding, as well.
God also had us in mind when this psalm was written. It’s addressed to “all the earth” and the last verse says that it includes “all generations.” The message of thanksgiving is so deep and wide that it applies to every person in every period of time and in every stage of life.
Col. 3:17 – “And whatever you do, whether in word or deed, do it all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him.” 1 Thess. 5:18 tells us that we are to “give thanks in all circumstances; for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus.”
I’m sure you have been told for many years – by faithful preachers of the gospel – that thanksgiving is not just a yearly event. For those of us who know God through His Son Jesus Christ, thanksgiving is supposed to be an everyday, all-the-time event. In the 100th Psalm, we are told that there are some behaviors that show that we are living lives of thanksgiving.
DECLARE LOUDLY
The phrase “shout for joy” means to “shout with the force of a trumpet blast.” It’s a reference to a “noise that splits the ear.”
In today's politically correct environment where you have to be so careful to keep from offending anyone, we might all have to talk like this fourth grader who reported on the origins of the Thanksgiving holiday to his class. He said, “The pilgrims came here seeking freedom of you know what. When they landed, they gave thanks to you know who. Because of them, we can worship each Sunday, you know where.”
We’re way too timid in proclaiming God’s goodness. We feel ashamed declaring the glory of God. We’re afraid that if we share the gospel of Christ that people will think we’re weird.
But the apostle Paul said in Rom. 1:16, “For I am not ashamed of the gospel, because it is the power of God that brings salvation to everyone who believes: first to the Jew, then to the Gentile.” Jesus said in Lk. 9:26 – “Whoever is ashamed of me and my words, the Son of Man will be ashamed of them when he comes in his glory and in the glory of the Father and of the holy angels”
Roland Allen tells about a veteran missionary who came up to him one day after he had delivered his sermon. The missionary introduced himself and said, “I was a medical missionary for many years in India. And I served in a region where 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 and he performed his operation, and 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.
The missionary told Allen that they never said, “Thank you,” 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. They had received something so wonderful that they eagerly proclaimed it.
WORSHIP GLADLY
The word translated as “worship” here means to worship through service or work. We serve God by serving others. And we worship God by serving others.
In Mt. 25, Jesus tells a parable about His second coming. He says that He will judge and separate people for eternity based on how they worshipped Him by serving others. Let’s hear what Jesus said.
Mt. 25:31-46 – “Then the King will say to those on his right, ‘Come, you who are blessed by my Father; take
your inheritance, the kingdom prepared for you since the creation of the world. For I was hungry and you gave
me something to eat, I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink, I was a stranger and you invited me in,
I needed clothes and you clothed me, I was sick and you looked after me, I was in prison and you came to visit
me.’ Then the righteous will answer him, ‘Lord, when did we see you hungry and feed you, or thirsty and give
you something to drink? When did we see you a stranger and invite you in, or needing clothes and clothe you? When did we see you sick or in prison and go to visit you?’ The King will reply, ‘Truly I tell you, whatever
you did for one of the least of these brothers and sisters of mine, you did for me.’ Then he will say to those on
his left, ‘Depart from me, you who are cursed, into the eternal fire prepared for the devil and his angels. For I
was hungry and you gave me nothing to eat, I was thirsty and you gave me nothing to drink, I was a stranger
and you did not invite me in, I needed clothes and you did not clothe me, I was sick and in prison and you did not look after me.’ They also will answer, ‘Lord, when did we see you hungry or thirsty or a stranger or needing clothes or sick or in prison, and did not help you?’ He will reply, ‘Truly I tell you, whatever you did
not do for one of the least of these, you did not do for me.’ Then they will go away to eternal punishment, but
the righteous to eternal life.”
I’m not sure we really understand this passage. Maybe we serve at times out of a feeling of obligation or a fear of guilt if we don’t serve. Maybe we do it because we want to draw attention to ourselves. We shouldn’t have to be poked, prodded, begged, cajoled, or shamed into serving the Lord. We should do it gladly! When we understand what He’s done for us, we should be willing and ready to serve.
Ps. 103:1-12 gives us a reminder of what God has done for us: Praise the LORD, my soul; all my inmost being, praise his holy name. Praise the LORD, my soul, and forget not all his benefits— who forgives all your sins and heals all your diseases, who redeems your life from the pit and crowns you with love and compassion,
who satisfies your desires with good things so that your youth is renewed like the eagle’s. The LORD works righteousness and justice for all the oppressed. He made known his ways to Moses, his deeds to the people of Israel: The LORD is compassionate and gracious, slow to anger, abounding in love. He will not always accuse,
nor will he harbor his anger forever; he does not treat us as our sins deserve or repay us according to our iniquities. For as high as the heavens are above the earth, so great is his love for those who fear him; as far as the east is from the west, so far has he removed our transgressions from us.
God is so good! And we should be so thankful that we should be ready at all times to serve Him by serving others.
In her classic autobiography The Hiding Place, Corrie Ten Boom tells of a time when she and her sister were forced to take off all their clothes during Nazi inspections at a death camp. Corrie stood in line feeling forsaken and defiled.
Suddenly, she remembered that Jesus had hung naked on the cross. Struck with wonder and worship during that seemingly forsaken moment, Corrie leaned forward and whispered to her sister: “Betsie, they took His clothes too.” Betsie gasped and said, “Oh, Corrie, and I never thanked Him.”
Declare loudly, worship gladly…
COME JOYFULLY
A thankful person says, “I have much more than I deserve.” An unthankful person says, “I deserve much more than I have.” I think that there is a real danger in this time in our society in determining our level of gratitude based on what we have.
A new college graduate was feeling very proud of himself. Not only had he graduated from a very prestigious school, he had taken the C.PA. exam and passed with flying colors. He was now a full-fledged Certified Public Accountant.
His father and mother had been immigrants to the U.S. The father owned his own little business. When the new C.P.A. visited his folks, he was filled with self-importance. He started criticizing how his father kept the books for his small business.
He said in a condescending way, “Dad, you don’t even know how much profit you’ve made. Over here in this drawer is your accounts receivable. Over there are your receipts payable. And you keep all your money in the cash register. You don’t have any idea how much money you’ve made.”
His dad answered, “Son, when I came to this country the only thing I owned was a pair of pants. Now, your brother is a doctor, your sister is an art teacher, and you are a C.P.A. Your mother and I own our home. We have a car and we own this little business. Now add that up, subtract the pants and all the rest is profit.”
The apostle Paul gives us some proper perspectives concerning our lot in life. Phil. 4:11-13 – “I am not
saying this because I am in need, for I have learned to be content whatever the circumstances. I know what it is
to be in need, and I know what it is to have plenty. I have learned the secret of being content in any and every
situation, whether well fed or hungry, whether living in plenty or in want. I can do all this through him who
gives me strength.” Whether we have plenty or we are in need, Christ is all we need.
Has it ever occurred to you that no Americans were more underprivileged than that small handful from the Mayflower who started the custom of setting aside a day of Thanksgiving to Almighty God? On Dec. 21, 1620, the Mayflower dropped anchor in Plymouth Bay – the end of a long hard journey. It took that 120 ton capacity ship 66 days to cross the Atlantic. They wound up way north of their intended destination.
It may have been the end of the journey but it was not the end of hardship. 102 passengers started the journey. Only 40% made it through the first winter at the new colony. Only three couples made it without experiencing the death of a spouse. Those that did survive lived in crude log huts. Yet, when the Mayflower sailed back to England in the spring, not one of the settlers left with the sailors to return. They chose to stay.
The real story behind the first Thanksgiving on the American continent had nothing to do with what we would consider a bountiful harvest. The first harvest was quite meager. Because of the hardships of the first year, it was originally proposed that a day of prayer and fasting be set aside to ask God for greater mercies.
One colonist, however, stood and said that it seemed that they had brooded for long enough and that it was high time they considered some of their great blessings. He pointed out that the rivers provided good water and were full of fish. He also pointed out that the woods were full of game. And he reminded them that they possessed what they had come to the New World for – full civil and religious freedom. So he proposed that instead of a fast, they have a day of thanksgiving. His advice was taken.
KNOW INTIMATELY
We are a church that believes the Bible is God’s inspired word. We stress the importance of Bible knowledge and Bible doctrine. And we should put emphasis on those things.
But I’m afraid that while we emphasize Bible knowledge, we are afraid of a personal knowledge of God. It frightens us because an intimate knowledge of God will change us. It makes us uncomfortable because we can’t just memorize some doctrinal statements or some scripture passages and then say we know God.
God says in Jer. 9:23-24 – “Let not the wise boast of their wisdom or the strong boast of their strengthor the
rich boast of their riches, but let the one who boasts boast about this: that they have the understanding to know me, that I am the LORD, who exercises kindness, justice and righteousness on earth, for in these I delight,”
In his book The Christian Atheist, Craig Groeschel offers a litmus test of sorts that might shed a little light on your relationship with God. He writes:
If you call me “Pastor Craig,” chances are you might know a little about me. You know what I do, maybe you've heard me speak, and maybe you're familiar with some of my favorite topics and my up-front personality. But your use of my title doesn't mean that you know me personally.
You might just call me “Craig,” and I'd usually assume that you know me even better. My friends call me Craig. We're close.
Then there are those who possess exclusive rights to a few specialized, far more intimate forms of address. These are the six beautiful, small people, very dear to me, whom I allow to climb up in my lap. They rub their hands on my face and say things like “You need to shave” and “You're the best” and “Can I have some candy?” They call me “Daddy.” The name reveals the intimacy.
What do you call God? Your answer may be a clue to how well you know him. Or don't.
ENTER THANKFULLY
In the Old Testament, the temple symbolized the presence of God. So whenever the people came to the temple and entered the courtyard, they knew that they had come into the presence of God. Now that temple no longer exists.
But God is everywhere. He’s with you as you drive on the highway. He’s with you when you work. He’s with you as you care for your children and grandchildren. He’s with you every moment of your life. And that is a source of thanksgiving, isn’t it?
Gratitude does not come naturally to us as human beings. In her book entitled The Gift of Thanks, Margaret Visser cites a study which observed how parents teach their children to say “hi,” “thanks,” and “good-bye.” The children in the study spontaneously said “hi” 27 percent of the time, “good-bye” 25 percent of the time, and
“thanks” only 7 percent of the time. Parents had to prompt their children to say “hi” 28 percent of the time, “good-bye” 33 percent of the time, and “thanks” 51 percent of the time. In conclusion, children had a much more difficult time learning to say “thanks.”
Most children have to learn to say “thank you” even before they know what it means. Visser states, “Eventually, when [children] have matured and been further educated, they will come to be able to feel the
emotion that the words express. The words come first, the feelings later.”
Based on this research Visser concludes that learning to be thankful involves a steep learning curve. She writes, “In our culture thanksgiving is believed to be, for most children, the very last of basic social graces they
acquire … .Children have to be ‘brought up’ to say they are grateful. The verb is passive: they are brought up,
they do not bring themselves.”
Visser also notes that, although we have to grow into the practice of thanksgiving, once we finally learn to be
grateful, we seldom forget it: “Such phrases [like ‘thank you’] become so ingrained in us that they last when
almost everything else has been forgotten. In states of aphasia, or in people suffering from Alzheimer's disease,
these little phrases often survive the shipwreck of other memories.”
CLOSE
As we close today, I want you to share some things for which you are thankful. Come on, now. Don’t be shy. Shout out your praises and reasons for thanksgiving this morning. (Let congregation share.)
Now that you’re done, I want to tell you a reason that I’m thankful this morning. Anna and I still get to celebrate our 20th wedding anniversary on Tuesday. You see, Anna, Brayden, and I survived a serious car accident yesterday. We were taking Brayden back to his parents (our son and daughter-in-law) in Princeton, IN. We were only a few blocks from their house when someone came flying through an intersection and smashed into our car.
They were moving fast and did a lot of damage. The old green Chevy is totaled. I saw them coming and hit the accelerator but the other vehicle never slowed and hit us on the driver’s side rear panel. It knocked us into a utility pole and we bounced back into the street.
A good number of people happened to see or hear the accident. They ran to our aid. The person who hit us left the scene. The witnesses described the vehicle to the police and some even went to look for the vehicle and person that hit us. They found her and the police went to her house. She lived just around the block from our son’s house. She had no driver’s license and was driving a borrowed vehicle.
We’re okay. We’re banged up a little. We’re very sore and stiff. We have a few glass cuts. But we learned that there was a lot for which to be thankful.
I’m thankful that I could still lead worship this morning.. That chemical inside of those airbags sure does get into your lungs. I coughed and sneezed a lot after the accident trying to get that stuff out of my system. My throat felt pretty rough last night. And the muscles in my left forearm are sore and stiff. That’s why I didn’t play the guitar this morning.
If you only saw our car, you would say, “Whoever was in that vehicle was probably hurt very badly.” But we’re fine. Even little Brayden was relatively unscathed by the impact of that vehicle striking ours. God was good. It could be a lot worse.
The one thing you don’t know is that we have been looking for a newer vehicle. The old green Chevy had a lot of miles on it. And although it was still a good car, we wanted something we could trust when traveling long distances. Our daughter-in-law had found us a beautiful van that ran great, looked good, and had been owned by a mechanic who took good care of the vehicle while he owned it. He had traded it in to the dealership where he worked for a new model.
After taking care of the paperwork from the accident, we travelled to the car dealership, test drove the van, and bought it. It’s parked out back.
I could focus on all the things that went wrong yesterday. It was not a fun day. But living with thanksgiving means that I have to look at all the blessings that were wrapped into the circumstances of the day. God is good.
Don’t get me wrong. I was angry at the person who would do something like that and then drive away but the police found them and they face a slew of criminal charges. I need to forgive them and move on. It will probably take a while to work out the monetary damages but the people who owned the vehicle gave the police they’re insurance information. But no one was seriously injured. Thank God.
Never take anything for granted. Things may happen and it may be your last day on earth. It certainly could have been ours yesterday. Are you living in gratitude to a God who loves you so much that He sent His only Son to die on a cross for your sins? That’s the only thing that would have mattered yesterday for us if circumstances had been just a bit different. It would have decided where we spent eternity.
