Living A Thankful Life
1 Chron 16:8-13 & 23-36
Intro
The day before Thanksgiving an elderly man in Phoenix called his son in New York and said to him, "I hate to ruin your day, but I have to tell you that your mother and I are divorcing; 45 years of misery is enough. We’re sick of each other, and so you call your sister in Chicago and tell her."
Frantic, the son called his sister, who exploded on the phone. "Like heck they’re getting divorced," she shouted, "I’ll take care of this." She called Phoenix immediately, and said to her father. "You are NOT getting divorced. Don’t do a single thing until I get there. I’m calling my brother back, and we’ll both be there tomorrow. Until then, don’t do a thing, DO YOU HEAR ME?" The man hung up his phone and turned to his wife. "Okay, honey. The kids are coming for Thanksgiving and paying for their flights."
As we begin our celebration of Thanksgiving today, I hope we will take time to reflect upon the goodness of God
It is a time for us to reflect and give thanks for all that God has blessed us with
It gives us the perfect opportunity to transform our lives from those of griping and dissatisfaction to lives of joy and gratitude.
Thanksgiving is a good holiday for us to turn the corner and become grateful people.
God wants us to be people of thanksgiving and gratitude.
With that being said I want us to look at 4 elements of true Thanksgiving found in our text today to help us LIVE A THANKFUL LIFE
Read 1 Chron 16:8-13 & 23-36 / Pray
Trans: The first thing to help us live a thankful life is…
1. REMEMBERING WHAT GOD HAS DONE
Vs 8 – “Give thanks to the Lord and proclaim His greatness. Let the whole world know what He has done”
Vs 11 – “Think of the wonderful works He has done…”
As we go day to day, it’s easy to forget what God has done
We often become a people of griping and complaining instead of being thankful
What has God done that we can be thankful for?
Creation – He created it just for us
Companionship – He gives us relationships with each other – our spouse – family
Provision – Food, shelter, health, provides what we need
Salvation – No greater act…no greater love…no greater provision than eternal life
Heaven – a place to dwell with Him forever
We can be thankful for the air we breathe; He woke us up this morning to enjoy another day being thankful for life
To give us another day to remember all that He has done – and be thankful
Trans: The second element to living a thanksful life is…
2. TELLING OTHERS WHAT HE HAS DONE
Vs. 9 – “Sing to Him; yes sing His praises. Tell everyone about His miracles.”
Vs 24 – “…Tell everyone about the amazing things He does.”
Vs 31 – “…Tell all the nations that the Lord is King.”
How many of us are complainers and gripers by nature?
Some of us can’t help but see the negative side of everything – U know who you are
And if we were still living in our old nature--that would be acceptable – but the bible says we have been changed
Paul says it like this in 2 Cor 5:17 (NLT) “What this means is those who have become Christians become new persons. They are not the same anymore, for the old life is gone, A new life has begun!”
It has been said, “A thankful spirit is one of the key distinguishing marks of a Christian. It sets us apart from the world, it makes us different.”
If we are to see people saved, we must tell people of His goodness; what He has done; How He has changed us and continues to work on us
Paul says that we have become new persons…for what reason?
He explains that in 2 Cor 5:18 “All this newness of life is from God, who brought us back to Himself through what Christ did. And God has given us the task of reconciling people to him.”
If you and I are not living a thankful life to God – it will drive people from the cross instead of to it
Trans: The third element of living a thankful life is…
3. SHOWING GOD’S GLORY TO OTHERS
Vs 23 & 24 – “Let the whole earth sing to the Lord! Each day proclaim the good news that He saves. (KJV – show forth His salvation) Publish His glorious deeds among the nations…”
Vs 29 – “Give to the Lord the glory He deserves…”
Listen, anyone can talk the talk but what matters is can you walk the walk
To show others the Glory of God our lives must speak to others through our actions of thankful living
How do we show His glory? By being a living testimony to His greatness
Vs 25 – “Great is the Lord! He is most worthy of praise! He is to be revered above all gods.”
The basis of us showing His glory to others is declaring God’s character and attributes through the way we live our life for Him
Do our lives speak of the Greatness of God and others can see it in how we live?
Matt 5:16 “In the same way, let your good deeds shine out for all to see, so that everyone will praise your Heavenly Father.”
We are to be living a thankful life that others can SEE the glory of God in us
Trans: The fourth and final element of living a thankful life is by…
4. OFFERING GIFTS OF SELF, TIME & RESOURCES
Vs 8 – “Give thanks to the Lord…”
Vs 29 – “Give to the Lord the glory He deserves. Bring your offering and come to worship Him”
Vs 34 – “Give thanks to the Lord for He is good! His faithful love endures forever.”
Notice in these verses – the one constant – GIVE TO THE LORD
God has given us so much to be thankful for – but part of living a thankful life is giving back to God
We can do that by giving of our self first and foremost – Best gift (Expound – spend time with Him) – give ourselves in worship
We can do that by giving of our time – be an available vessel for whatever God needs
We can also do that by giving of our resources – money, vehicles, home, tools, etc
- Mowing; repairing; constructing; sheltering; transporting;
Turn to Matt 25:35-40
Listen, God doesn’t need anything – for Himself – but for us – As we make our resources available for His use – we will be blessed
The Lord knows that by giving we will be more blessed than just receiving (Acts 20:35)
Quote Luke 6:38 “Give and it shall be given to you…”
Look what Jesus tells us in Matt 10:8 “Heal the sick, raise the dead, cure those with leprosy, and cast out demons. Give as freely as you have received.”
Freely (undeservedly) we have received – freely we should give – of our self, time, & resources
He said raise the dead – did you know that I have done that in my life? How?
That word RAISE means in the Greek “To arouse; cause to be born; to recall the dead to life”
The word DEAD means “lifeless; destitute of life; inanimate”
Listen – dead people all around us – walking around without hope – when we give them the gospel – they get saved and are RAISED FROM THE DEAD – Can I get a witness?
Living a thankful life will cause us to offer our self, time and resources to the Lord
Conclusion
Thanksgiving is a time to celebrate and give thanks to the Lord
But not just one day a year – but everyday Living a Thankful Life by…
1. Remembering what God has done
2. Telling others what He has done
3. Showing God’s glory to others
4. Offering gifts of self, time and resources
May His light shine in us – may we be in the business of raising the dead – giving without reservation
And let us do this by living a thankful life to our Lord / Pray
