JARRING OUR MEMORIES
PSALM 137:1-4
Jarring our memories Baker/Cup bearer dreams and Joseph
"Yet the cup bearer did not remember Joseph but forgot him" 40:23
Pharoah's dream jars cup bearer's memory
FORGETFULNESS LED TO THANKLESSNESS
Perhaps something has jarred your memory
Thanksgiving sale card.... turkeys piled up at
Ukrops
HOPE it will jar your memory
took cup bearer 2 years
been one year for you... (since last Thanksgiving) They say that a picture is worth a thousand words.... I have three.
1. Thankful for little.
Old man... plain clothes... plain meal... plain home... bible... praying. This man is the picture of a truly thankful person.
They are thankful for what they have.... little or much... new or old big or small
They realize that all they have is a gift from the Lord
do not credit self
And he does not forget... even in the midst of simplicity. He feel a great indebtedness
That feeling is necessary for Thanksgiving
Some of you here today are there.
I sat in the home of a member this week who lives in a house in a style that most of us would consider ourselves to be living in poverty. But she did not, in fact, because she loves her simple life and would rather to sit in her own simple home and eat a simple meal of left-over or whatever than to go out to a restaurant.
People like that get on their knees and thank God for his bountiful blessings. For them, EVERYDAY IS THANKSGIVING
Ps 103:2 (KJ.V.) says, "Bless the Lord, 0 my soul, and forget not all of His
benefits." The N.A.S. actually translates it, ".. forget none of His benefits"
like the KN better here because I don't believe that ANYBODY!!! NO BODY!! remembers all of God's blessings. We don't even recognize them all.
"Wreckless car ran out of gas before it came my way... Angels watching over me." Amy Grant
God has more problems with us remembering NONE of His benefits. I like the Pendleton translation... "Bless the Lord, 0 my soul, and don't forget all of God's benefits, at least remember and give thanks for a few.
And that brings me to the second picture… I don't have this one but have seen it.
2. Thankful for Nothing.
This is the picture of oxen at a com crib... or a feeding trough, if you will. They are devouring the fodder, as the farmer tosses it into the crib... pulling it out in big clumps, biting off some, and letting rest fall on ground where it is trampled underfoot. They are biting at each other out of greed and pushing each other away in a mad attempt to get it all. The more the fight and pull the more is dropped and trampled. Beneath the picture is an inscription.. "Who without prayer sits down to eat,
And without thanks then leaves the table tramples the gift of God with feet and is like the oxen in the stable
Do you think that oxen ever stop for one moment to consider how thankful they should be to the farmer or God?
Do they ever stop to consider all the farmer has done for them in planting, fertilizing, cutting, raking, bailing, and hauling the fodder?
Of course not.... they just tear into it with no thought and eat to satisfy a physical urge. Then, without a word of thanks, they turn away and leave, trampling some of the fodder as they leave.
They return to the pasture to lay in the shade, or chew their cud, or graze some desert. They live with no thought... just satisfying desires and instincts.
And that is OK for cattle or dumb animals but what of God's children....
ESPECIALLY those of us who are called by His name... Christians????
Can we be so crass, so animalistic, so thoughtless?
WE ARE thankless…
If we flip on the switch and light turns on and we are
If we turn on faucet and get clean water
If we drive a car to a good job
If we throw another log on or bump the thermostat
If we take medicine.... or take no medicine
If we lay down in warm bed... safe house
IF WE DO THESE THINGS AND DONT SAY THANK YOU we are like… no, WE ARE WORSE THAN.... oxen at the crib.
The ox doesn't thank because he is dumb animal, incapable of THINKING
What is YOUR/MY excuse????
This brings us to the last picture... The picture on your bulletin.
3. Thanks is Impossible
God's people, with long sad faces sitting by the Tigris river. They are Jews captured by the Babylonians and exported off to a foreign land to live as slaves.
Beside them, hanging in the tree are their harps... the instruments used to praise God. But they are not praising, not playing, not singing.
They are sulking, having a pity party, pouting. They have hung up harps... "Useless, impossible to praise.
"How can we (it is impossible to) give thanks in a foreign land (difficult situation)?"
I must confess that it is too easy to preach Thanksgiving sermons about how rich we all are and how much we all have to be thankful for.
(It is true.... rich by 90% of world's standards.... $400/year)
And I realize just how easy and cushy my life is.
But many come to Thanksgiving with crushing circumstances... unbearable burdens.... emotionally, financially, physically.
I would add more burden to them if I preached platitudes about how blessed we all are and should feel happy and thankful.
Life does not stop, tragedies do not cease, death does not take a holiday, just because it is a holiday. Some are here today, wanting to say thank you... but the bottom of their box is wet and soft and the bottom is about to fall out (emotionally) and their whole life be topsy-turvy.
Some face truly life/death matters.... problems, worries, heart-aches, fears, doubts that dwarf anything I have ever imagined.
How can they just decide, OK I am not going to be afraid/worried/ashamed/etc.... I am going to be thankful.
This thing is crushing me, I feel I can hardly breathe it is hard enough to pray... confusing enough to hear about God's love and goodness.... a struggle just to come to church today... BUT DON'T EXPECT ME TO BE HAPPY AND THANKFUL!!!!!!
What does God have to say to them at Thanksgiving?
It says the same thing to all three groups...
YOU••.. NEED.••. THANKSGIVING!!
Don't see thanksgiving as something that you do FOR GOD!!!!
It is FOR YOU!!! It does two things
1. IT AWAKENS US TO THE THINGS THAT WE TAKE FOR
GRANTED... or fail to see.
First colonists to America had terrible winters... planted wrong crops
nearly all died in first winter Then came spring and little to plant… Help from Indians Good harvest Thanksgiving banquet
Then things got better... people forgot.... ungrateful
Depression of 1930's came after time of extravagant abundance businesses crashed businessmen became hobos necessities were scarce what WAS taken for granted was treasured glad to have job for pennies a day glad to have just necessities
THANKSGIVING CAME... glad to have pot of beans
glad to have family together /child to bounce on knee
tickled to be able to afford one good dress
luxury to have one balanced meal (beans)
"BUT TIME PASSED"
things got better
hobos home and employed
businesses reopened.... prosperous empty stomachs filled
tears dried
THANKFULNESS TURNED TO FORGETFULNESS
BLESSING TURNED TO COMMON
COMMON TURNED TO BOREDOM
BOREDOM TURNED TO BURDEN
THANKSGIVING CAME
child to bounce became another mouth to feed
joy of one good dress became freed for two
joy over hot meal became anger over $2 bag of food
HOW SOON WE FORGET
WE NEED THANKSGIVING TO HELP US BACK OFF AND GAIN SOME PERSPECTIVE.
TAKE INVENTORY AND GIVE THANKS IT WILL MAKE US JOYFUL
2. IT IMPRESSES UPON US OUR UTTER DEPENDENCE ON GOD.
IT BRINGS GOD BACK INTO OUR LIVES.
The reason that there is so little thankfulness is the same reason that there is so much Godlessness and rampant sin in our world today
THERE IS NO FEAR OF GOD!!!!!
and
THERE IS NO NEED FOR GOD!!!!!
We have robbed God... robbed him of his glory and credit for all He does
And we give the credit elsewhere....
In things as common as the weather we rob God
Farmers.... rain.... sun we don't see his hand in it
we believe it is highs and lows and disturbances and the jet
stream
We take God out... no fear... no need... no thanksgiving.
In food on the table
we don't see God's hand in it
we believe it is OUR doing.... our labor, our good deals
we don't see God giving job... giving health... giving raises... giving
money
No recognition... no credit, no debt, NO THANKS
WE NEED THANKSGIVING JUST TO REMIND US HOW UTTERLY DEPENDENT WE ARE ON GOD
THAT WILL REMIND US OF ALL HE DOES FOR US
THAT WILL MAKE US THANKFUL AND RAISE US UP (temporarily) OUT OF OUR HECTIC, BURDENED, BORING, ROUTINE, PESSIMISTIC LIFE
And we need that!!!!!!!!!!
And we should not leave here today without thanking God for the greatest blessing upon us....
JESUS CHRIST DYING TO GIVE US FORGIVENESS
RISING TO GIVE US LIFE ETERNAL
