How Many Did You Say,
Was Coming For Dinner?
This coming Thursday, since 1621, will mark the 390th time, Thanksgiving has been celebrated in this great country.
Tables will be spread with all the favorite recipes of families handed down, for generations all over the land,
Even though were always worried about how many will be eating at our dinner table at any given holiday,
I’ve never been to a thanksgiving day dinner that there wasn’t enough to go around and then some!
We are truly a blessed people living in a blessed country, no matter what the media may try to tell you!
As a nation, we celebrate this day as one to be thankful, we set everything aside to give thanks for what we have.
Someone once said;
“Thanksgiving is an unusual holiday because it combines God & government & society. And it is generally considered acceptable for everyone, regardless of religion, to be thankful on Thanksgiving Day.”
And if the truth be told, everyone can find something to be thankful for!
We live in the greatest and richest country on earth, people still flock to America, the land of opportunity!
Even though more things seem to be wrong than right in the world sometimes,
we really should stop more often and thank the good Lord for what we have and stop complaining about what we don’t have.
ILL. Two school teachers who hadn’t seen each other in several years met at a convention, & they began filling each other in on what had happened in their lives since the last time they had met.
One teacher said, "I got married two years ago." "Oh, that’s good," her friend replied.
"Well, no, not really," the first one said. "My husband is twice as old as I am." "Oh, that’s bad," her friend replied.
"Well, no, not really," she said, "he is a millionaire several times over." "Oh, that’s good," her friend replied.
"Well, no, not really," she said, "he’s mean to me, & won’t give me any money." "Oh, that’s bad," her friend replied.
"Well, no, not really," she said. "He did build us a $400,000 house." "Oh, that’s good," her friend replied.
"Well, no, not really," she said. "It burned down last month." "Oh, that’s bad," her friend replied.
"Well, no, not really," she said. "He was in it when it burned down."
You see, I told you everyone could find something to be thankful for!
TBS. we should be thankful, no matter what.
1st Thess. 5:16-18 MSG.
16-18. Be cheerful no matter what; pray all the time; thank God no matter what happens. This is the way God wants you who belong to Christ Jesus to live.
23-24. May God himself, the God who makes everything holy and whole, make you holy and whole, put you together—spirit, soul, and body—and keep you fit for the coming of our Master, Jesus Christ. The One who called you is completely dependable. If he said it, he'll do it!
God wants us to celebrate thanksgiving all the time and we should,
and the way that we do that, is to make our focus, more about Him and less about us!
If we are Christians and were not thankful, what kind of a message does that send to all those who don’t know the Lord?
We should be the happiest people on earth, we have been given so much and been asked to give so little in return.
God has given us the greatest gift in the world, the gift of His Son Jesus, the gift of eternal Life,
The only thing we have to give Him in return, is ourselves and the little that we have.
When we do that, Jesus takes what we have given Him and turns it into something truly amazing,
the abundant life, He promised to each and every one of us that would believe and trust Him for.
TBS. and we read it earlier, The One who called you is completely dependable. If he said it, he'll do it!
When we are willing to put the little we have into the hands of the Master, the results are unlimited. Praise God!
Jesus taught us about this line of thinking in the book of Matt. 14:13-21 MSG.
13-14. When Jesus got the news, he slipped away by boat to an out-of-the-way place by himself. But unsuccessfully—someone saw him and the word got around. Soon a lot of people from the nearby villages walked around the lake to where he was. When he saw them coming, he was overcome with pity and healed their sick.
15. Toward evening the disciples approached him. "We're out in the country and it's getting late. Dismiss the people so they can go to the villages and get some supper."
16. But Jesus said, "There is no need to dismiss them. You give them supper."
17. "All we have are five loaves of bread and two fish," they said.
After Jesus had been moved with compassion, he was overcome with pity and healed their sick.
Now we know that there were at least 5K men, not counting women and children who were there.
How many here this morning, realize that healing the sick that day, took some serious amount of time and effort on Jesus part!
After all, TBS. He healed their sick, not some of their sick, but all their sick!
That means whoever came that day for their healing, received their healing,
there was no doubt thousands upon thousands, of miracles and needs met there that day!
Praise be to God, the Father of all miracles!
It no doubt, had been an all day, strenuous event.
Now you know that, He could have waved His hand and healed them all at once,
But that wouldn’t have done much to build their faith now would have it!
I imagine with each miracle that Jesus did that day, the faith in the healing line grew with anticipation.
*Did you see that man,
*what about the child with the fever,
*or that woman that couldn’t speak her whole life long, she’s singing a brand new song, can you believe it?
*Hey, that guy with a limp, he ain’t limping no more
All were healed by the anointed one, “oh, oh, Jesus heal me, heal me,” they thought to themselves,
Each waiting their turn have the Master touch their life and change it forever!
TBS. He is the same yesterday, today and forever. What He did for those who were there that day, He will still do today for all who will believe.
Get in the healing line today, take your miracle home with you!
As the day was winding down, It’s almost like at that point, the disciples were more spent then Jesus was.
They were trying to tell Him what to do, they said, “send them away”
But He wasn’t having it, not for a minute!
"We're out in the country and it's getting late. Dismiss the people so they can go to the villages and get some supper."
16. But Jesus said, "There is no need to dismiss them. You give them supper."
They thought to themselves, that’s impossible Jesus, do You know how much that would cost?
A fortune, that’s how much that would cost, “Shall we go and buy two hundred denarii worth of bread and give them something to eat?” Mark 6:37 says
That wasn’t even enough to give them a proper meal and that was the equivalent of over six months wages.
They couldn’t get their mind off of what they were capable of, it was all about them, what in the world were they going to do?
They had just seen, as I mentioned earlier, probably what was several thousand miracles that day,
And all they could think about was, what they themselves was capable of!
Sometimes the answer is right there in front of us and we still have a hard time figuring it out, don’t we?
Does anyone remember, the hotter, colder game they used to play when we were kids?,
You know the closer you were to what was hidden, the other person what say hotter, hotter, until they said your red hot
and still you had a hard time seeing it, that’s how they were!
They had just seen Jesus do the impossible all day long, they should have been focusing on the limitless things He was capable of,
instead of the limited amount of things, they knew that they could do!
That’s what the Grace and favor message of Jesus is all about, not about what you can do,
But what He is able to accomplish through you when you give Him what you have!
Praise God, Are you with me?
They finally began to catch on, its like a light went off or something!
John 6:8 NKJ
8. One of His disciples, Andrew, Simon Peter’s brother, said to Him,
9 “There is a lad here who has five barley loaves and two small fish, but what are they among so many?”
They were so close, but still yet so far from where they needed to be.
They didn’t realize it, but in the hands of the Master, that little bit was about to turn into the biggest seafood smorgas-board the world would ever see.
And thank the Lord for that little boy that day, so many people who were there you know,
And I have a hard time believing, that he was the only one that had brought anything to eat that day,
Was his moma, the only good moma, in the whole country side of the area where they were at.
I will say one thing about her, she must have been a giver, because the boy had been taught and he learned it from somewhere,
that’s why its important, to train up a child in the ways of the Lord!
Out of all who there that day, he was the one that was willing, to give what he had that day to Jesus.
The Bible doesn’t say anything else about the lad, but the Bible does say in,
Luke 6:38 NKJ
38. Give, and it will be given to you: good measure, pressed down, shaken together, and running over will be put into your bosom. For with the same measure that you use, it will be measured back to you.”
MSG. Give away your life; you'll find life given back, but not merely given back—given back with bonus and blessing. Giving, not getting, is the way. Generosity begets generosity."
I would imagine that lad grew up blessed his whole life long!
Its amazing what can be done and accomplished for the kingdom of God, when someone is willing to be a giver!
Matt. 14:18 MSG.
18-21. Jesus said, "Bring them here." Then he had the people sit on the grass. He took the five loaves and two fish, lifted his face to heaven in prayer, blessed, broke, and gave the bread to the disciples. The disciples then gave the food to the congregation. They all ate their fill. They gathered twelve baskets of leftovers. About five thousand were fed.
Jesus could have been like His disciples and said what do you expect me to do with 5 small loaves and two fish.
But He knew this was an opportunity to show them what His Father was capable of,
He’s an over the top God of not just enough, but more than enough,
Praise God, are ya with me?!!
When you are willing to put, the little you have, into Gods hands and be thankful for what you have.
Wherever you are in life, there is nothing that can’t be achieved, when you are willing to give it all over to Him,
And realize its not about what your capable of any longer, its what He’s capable of doing through and in your life.
Its when this time of year comes around, that we sometimes take inventory of what we have and realize,
even if we don’t have everything that we think we need, we all have so much to be thankful for,
And the thing we should be most thankful for is our relationship that we have with God, through Jesus His Son, and we should celebrate it all throughout the year.
Phil 4:4-9&19 MSG.
4-5. Celebrate God all day, every day. I mean, revel in him! Make it as clear as you can to all you meet that you're on their side, working with them and not against them. Help them see that the Master is about to arrive. He could show up any minute!
6-7. Don't fret or worry. Instead of worrying, pray. Let petitions and praises shape your worries into prayers, letting God know your concerns. Before you know it, a sense of God's wholeness, everything coming together for good, will come and settle you down. It's wonderful what happens when Christ displaces worry at the center of your life.
(it’s the peace of God, that passes all understanding, Praise God!)
8-9. Summing it all up, friends, I'd say you'll do best by filling your minds and meditating on things true, noble, reputable, authentic, compelling, gracious—the best, not the worst; the beautiful, not the ugly; things to praise, not things to curse. Put into practice what you learned from me, what you heard and saw and realized. Do that, and God, who makes everything work together, will work you into his most excellent harmonies.
19. And my God shall supply all your need according to His riches in glory by Christ Jesus.
Its knowing when we put all we have in His hands, He will take care of all our needs, wants and concerns,
His grace and Favor that He extends to us, is what makes it all possible.
Thank You Jesus for the Amazing Gift of Grace that You Gave to us!
All made possible by Your selfless act of Love for us, on the cross of Calvary!
We have it so good, We enjoy it so much, We express it so little!
Take the opportunity this year, to make it about giving thanks to the One, who we owe a debt of gratitude that we could never repay.
Take the opportunity this year to say thank you for the Blessings and for all you do and don’t ask for anything in return.
This year, lets make it all about Him and not about us for a change.
And I promise you, you will be amazed beyond belief, what God will accomplish in and through your life when you do!
Amen? Lets pray!
