(All my sermons use illustrations found at www.sermoncentral.com and all scripture is NIV unless otherwise noted.)
TITANIC THANKFULNESS
Thanksgiving is a day set aside each year for us to give thanks, of course most of us know that scripture tells us we should be thankful always and at all times. Eph 5:19-20 Sing and make music in your heart to the Lord, 20 always giving thanks to God the Father for everything, in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ.
1 Thess 5:16-18 Be joyful always; 17 pray continually; 18 give thanks in all circumstances, for this is God's will for you in Christ Jesus.
In all the years I have been preaching and teaching the Word of God, I have never had more to be thankful for than right now. Perhaps that is not entirely true, but I have that perspective. I have not always had that perspective and so I have missed the many blessings I have had in my life, I have missed them because I couldn’t see them as blessings. It has always been difficult to see trials as something to have joy about. I have never truly understood why I would want to be thankful for many of the things I have encountered in my service to God, but I stand here today as a man who has a different perspective.
I know that my God is a PROVIDER, He is my PROTECTOR, and He is my POWER. David knew this as he wrote this famous Psalm:
The LORD is my shepherd, I shall not be in want. 2 He makes me lie down in green pastures, he leads me beside quiet waters, 3 he restores my soul. He guides me in paths of righteousness for his name's sake. 4 Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil, for you are with me; your rod and your staff, they comfort me. 5 You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies. You anoint my head with oil; my cup overflows. 6 Surely goodness and love will follow me all the days of my life, and I will dwell in the house of the LORD forever.
PRAYER
This morning we celebrate Thanksgiving together as a church body, and this morning I hope to give you all a different perspective, A TITANIC perspective to have THANKFULNESS. David points out three things that should allow us to have thanksgiving all the time:
I. GOD IS MY PROVIDER
Can you see all the things that David saw? He sees God as his provider, “I shall not want” “He prepares a table before me” “My cup overflows” “Goodness and love will follow me” “I will dwell in His house”
David could see what we may not be seeing, perhaps we need to have David’s perspective, perhaps we just need to see all the things that God PROVIDES for us today. David starts out with “I shall not want.” He starts out by telling us that he has all he needs because God is his shepherd. The truth is God is OUR shepherd as well. He is there to provide, protect and give us direction. He has plans to prosper us and never harm us. The question is PERSPECTIVE, is ours where it needs to be? Sometimes we need to see things the way they could be if we did not have God on our side on order to appreciate having Him in our corner, having Him as our shepherd.
Our power is shut off, and suddenly we become thankful for electricity. Our garbage is not picked up, and suddenly we become thankful for the garbage collector’s weekly stop. A good friend dies, and suddenly we discover how much he meant to us. Our water becomes too polluted to drink and suddenly we appreciate having good water. Why is it, Lord, that we take for granted the uncounted blessings of life until they are removed from us?
I believe it is because we do not have the right perspective about just how much God has given us, and continues to give us.
A man was walking through an art gallery when he came upon a picture of the Lord Jesus dying upon the cross. He stopped and looked at the beautiful portrait of Calvary's love. As he stared into the face of Christ, so full of agony the gallery guard tapped him on the shoulder. "Lower," the guard said. "The artist painted this picture to be appreciated from a lower position."
So the man bent down. And from this lower position he observed new beauties in the picture not previously shown. "Lower," said the guard. "Lower still." The man knelt down on one knee and looked up into the face of Christ. The new vantage point yielded new beauties to behold and appreciate.
But motioning with his torch toward the ground, the guard said, "Lower. You've got to go lower." The man now dropped down to two knees and looked up. Only then as he looked up at the painting from such a low posture could he realize the artist's intended perspective. Only then could he see the full beauty of the cross.
Is the same not true in worship? Only as we position ourselves lower and lower in humble submission can we behold more fully the glories of our wonderful Lord.
Just think of all the things God provides for you each and every day. Food, shelter, David went so far as to say “My cup overflows.” “Goodness and love will follow me all the days of my life” Having goodness and love follow you all the days of your life is a matter of perspective, sometimes we don’t see things as good or loving, but they are. We have much to be thankful for, TITANIC THANKFULNESS. God provides everything we need, including discipline.
I have never known a child to think that discipline is love, but the Bible even tells us that God disciplines those He loves:
Heb 12:5-6 My son, do not make light of the Lord's discipline, and do not lose heart when he rebukes you, 6 because the Lord disciplines those he loves, and he punishes everyone he accepts as a son."
Be thankful for God is our PROVIDER & He is our
II. GOD IS MY PROTECTOR
David says, “He is my shepherd” “I fear no evil” “He is with me” and “His rod and staff comfort me” David understood that he was safe in God’s presence and so should we. NO ONE can stand against God, no evil, no person, nothing is a match for Him who created the world and everything in it.
Isa 41:10 So do not fear, for I am with you; do not be dismayed, for I am your God.
We ALL face times of pain and suffering and we wonder where God is while we are enduring this trial. God protects us and sees us through, however, He does not always do this the way that we think He should. It is a matter of perspective, we must have the perspective that God knows what is best for us and be thankful for His protection.
During World War II, a US marine was separated from his unit on a Pacific island. The fighting had been intense, and in the smoke and the crossfire he had lost touch with his comrades.
Alone in the jungle, he could hear enemy soldiers coming in his direction. Scrambling for cover, he found his way up a high ridge to several small caves in the rock. Quickly he crawled inside one of the caves. Although safe for the moment, he realized that once the enemy soldiers looking for him swept up the ridge, they would quickly search all the caves and he would be killed.
As he waited, he prayed, "Lord, if it be your will, please protect me. Whatever your will though, I love you and trust you. Amen."
After praying, he lay quietly listening to the enemy begin to draw close. He thought, "Well, I guess the Lord isn’t going to help me out of this one." Then he saw a spider begin to build a web over the front of his cave. As he watched, listening to the enemy searching for him all the while, the spider layered strand after strand of web across the opening of the cave.
“Hah, he thought. "What I need is a brick wall and what the Lord has sent me is a spider web. God does have a sense of humor."
As the enemy drew closer he watched from the darkness of his hideout and could see them searching one cave after another. As they came to his, he got ready to make his last stand. To his amazement, however, after glancing in the direction of his cave, they moved on. Suddenly, he realized that with the spider web over the entrance, his cave looked as if no one had entered for quite a while. "Lord, forgive me," prayed the young man. "I had forgotten that in you a spider’s web is stronger than a brick wall."
We all face times of great trouble. When we do, it is so easy to forget the victories that God would work in our lives, sometimes in the most surprising ways. As the great leader, Nehemiah, reminded the people of Israel when they faced the task of rebuilding Jerusalem, "In God we will have success!" [Nehemiah 2:20]
Remember: Whatever is happening in your life, with God, a mere spider’s web can become a brick wall of protection. Believe He is with you always.
Just speak His name through Jesus His son, and you will see His great power and love for you. I truly wanted to sing this song for you today, it is a song that is written by a very popular contemporary Christian rock group called “THIRD DAY.” It tells me that with the proper perspective we can thank God for even our pain and suffering. It tells me that when things are tough,, we need only CRY OUT TO JESUS. Listen to these words.
To everyone who's lost someone they love, long before it was their time,
You feel like the days you had were not enough when you said goodbye
And to all of the people with burdens and pains, keeping you back from your life
You believe that there's nothing and there is no one, who can make it right
There is hope for the helpless, rest for the weary, love for the broken heart
There is grace and forgiveness, mercy and healing, He'll meet you wherever you are Cry out to Jesus, Cry out to Jesus
For the marriage that's struggling just to hang on, They lost all of their faith in love
They've done all they can to make it right again, Still it's not enough
For the ones who can't break the addictions and chains, You try to give up but you come back again Just remember that you're not alone in your shame And your suffering
When your lonely And it feels like the whole world is falling on you, You just reach out, you just cry out to Jesus, Cry to Jesus.
We have a God who cares, a God who feels our pain and suffering, a God that protects us and for that we should be so thankful. Just cry out to Jesus and He will give you comfort and rest:
Matt 11:28 "Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest.
A God Who is a PROVIDER and a God who is our PROTECTOR
III. GOD IS MY POWER
Now here is where people will start asking questions. How can we be thankful for a God who is our power if we have no power? “How do we go about getting this power, I sure need some to get through the day, week, month and year.”
Perhaps the answer is simply put in scripture itself.
Col 1:10-12 And we pray this in order that you may live a life worthy of the Lord and may please him in every way: bearing fruit in every good work, growing in the knowledge of God, 11 being strengthened with all power according to his glorious might so that you may have great endurance and patience, and joyfully 12 giving thanks to the Father, who has qualified you to share in the inheritance of the saints in the kingdom of light.
I see that Paul tells us that we are strengthened in God when we grow in the knowledge of Him. We are strengthened in Him, according to His glorious might as we bear fruit in every good work. We gain great endurance and patience as we aim to live a life worthy of the Lord and aim to please Him in every way.
THEN notice verse 12, JOYFULLY GIVING THANKS!
OH we have so much to be thankful for, we must see that God is the reason for this holiday that we celebrate. It is for giving thanks to the one that provides for us. It is for giving thanks for the One who protects us. It is a holiday for giving thanks to the One who is our passion and our power. Yes, it is also a time for family and food, but God gave us those things. He is the One to which we should give TITANIC THANKFULESS.
This Thanksgiving I want you to dwell on the one whom makes all things possible. Think of the one who died for our sins and allowed us amazing Grace. Thank the One who has given us POWER over the devil and his schemes.
2 Cor 10:4-5 The weapons we fight with are not the weapons of the world. On the contrary, they have divine power to demolish strongholds. 5 We demolish arguments and every pretension that sets itself up against the knowledge of God, and we take captive every thought to make it obedient to Christ.
We have weapons with divine power because God wants us to fight the enemy in His power. To take captive every thought and make it obedient to Him. To smash all things that set themselves up against the knowledge of God. I am so thankful for our God, HOW ABOUT YOU?
His life is matchless. His goodness is limitless. His mercy is everlasting. His love never changes. His word is enough. His grace is sufficient. His reign is righteous. His yoke is easy and His burden is light. Well. I wish I could describe Him to you. But He’s indescribable. Yes. He’s incomprehensible. He’s invincible, He’s irresistible. I’m trying to tell you, the Heavens cannot contain Him, let alone a man explain Him. You can’t get Him out of your mind. You can’t get Him off of your hands. You can’t outlive Him, and you can’t live without Him. Well. The Pharisees couldn’t stand Him, but they found out they couldn’t stop Him. Pilate couldn’t find any fault in Him. Herod couldn’t kill Him. Death couldn’t handle Him and the grave couldn’t hold Him. That’s my king!
GIVE THANKS
This morning we offer an invitation to all who feel the Spirit of God prompting them to come forward. Our invitation hymn this morning is # 597 “Take my Life and Let it Be” Verses 1,5&6
