A Foundation that Results in Thanksgiving
By Rev. James May
Our nation is preparing for the days of feasting on turkey and enjoying a holiday weekend. In the hearts of those who acknowledge the blessings of God, it is a time to gather with family and friends and celebrate the goodness of God and to express our thankfulness for the many blessings that He has bestowed upon us.
But because our society is also trying to cast the knowledge of God out of our national conscience, for many people this celebration has little to do with a thankful heart and more to do with the fulfilment of the lust of their own hearts.
The hearts of those who are fixed on the things of this world would just as soon forget about giving thanks to God, so instead of taking the time to be thankful for what they have, the whole focus is changed to what they don’t have, and the holiday of Thanksgiving becomes just “Turkey Day” and will simply be the springboard to enter into the shopping frenzy and the race to malls and shopping centers.
It’s a testimony to the faithfulness and long-suffering patience and mercy of God that America is still a land of plenty and for that we should all be thankful.
As I was searching the Bible for a message to give this morning, knowing that Thanksgiving was upon us, the Spirit led me to a passage that spoke to me as I read it. I believe that it is going to speak to you this morning as well, but I think that it will be a little different from most sermons presented on this day across the land.
I want to take you back to a time in the history of Israel when the Jews had fallen into captivity in Babylon. Their idolatry and neglect of be thankful and worshipping God had resulted in the downfall of their nation and the destruction of both Jerusalem and the first temple. The daily sacrifices, and the offering of sacrifices at the appointed seasons by the Law of Moses had been halted. For 70 years the Jews were not free to worship God as they pleased but were forced to observe the laws of their captors in Babylon.
2 Kings 24:20 tells us why Judah fell and the Jews were taken into slavery under this heathen king, “For through the anger of the LORD it came to pass in Jerusalem and Judah, until he had cast them out from his presence…”
After having sent prophets into Judah time and again, and watching Judah go ever deeper into sin and refusing to repent, God’s anger was kindled and he sent them out of his presence.
That’s a terrible position to be in. Lord, I know that America is following that same path; and sadly, so many in the church are leaving the Word of God to follow the teachers who tickle the ears and don’t preach repentance of sin anymore, telling people what they want to hear so they can continue to live the way they want and giving men a false hope. But Lord, we here cry out for the church and for our nation, that we will not be driven from your presence.
It’s not the sin of the world around us that’s the problem; it’s the sin in the church that has turned her back on the very God she claims to worship.
Thankfulness for the great salvation that is offered through repentance of sin and acceptance of the Blood of Jesus has given way to the fulfilling of the desires of the flesh and worshipping of wealth and the enjoyment of the pleasure of sin and these have become our idols.
During this time we see that the Jews were forced to bow to the golden image of King Nebuchadnezzar, a statue that had been built for the express purpose of making the king to appear as a god; and the only one worthy of praise.
Most of the people bowed in obedience. It wasn’t hard for them to do so because they had long ago lost their faith and had accepted idols as the focus of their worship.
Thank God, there were a few who stood faithful through it all. They didn’t give up so easily, even though they knew it meant persecution and death. I know you remember the story of Daniel and the Lion’s den, and the three Hebrew children, Shadrach, Meschach and Abednego who went through the fiery furnace.
I hadn’t thought of it much in this manner, but the true church of today that is holding on the Word of God and uncompromising with the world, is identified with Daniel and those three young men who stood firm through the fire.
The world, and the worldly church, would love nothing more than to cast those who hold to the truth with compromise into the “Lion’s den” where we would be out of their hair. But like He did for Daniel, God stops the mouths of the lions and keeps the voice of truth alive and well.
And like those Hebrew boys in the fire, sometimes there are those among us who preach the true gospel who are put through the fire. Throughout church history and even to this very day, Satan has tried to destroy the voice of those who are preaching the gospel around the world. Many faithful Christians have faced death and imprisonment for the cause of Christ. But though the world may hold them captive and even kill many, their souls are free in Christ, and their voice lives on in the converts they have made.
The gates of hell shall never prevail over the house of the Lord and the gospel will be preached in spite of all that anyone can do to stop it. God has decreed it, He is lifting up the standard of the cross, and the blood of Jesus will never lose its power.
Yet even though Jesus has already won the victory for those who will trust in him, there are still many who choose to lay him aside and begin to put other things ahead of Christ in their hearts.
When we begin to worship other things than the God of Heaven, it’s easy to just accept anything that comes along. One idol is no different than another and none of them have the power to satisfy the inner desires of the heart, so the search goes on and Satan is more than happy to just keep putting more idols before the eyes of men so that he may draw them ever farther from the Lord.
The farther men go from the heart of God and the worship of God, the less thankful we become and the more we become inward focused, ever searching to fulfill those “Big Three” that Rev. Stringer loves to speak about, namely, the Lust of the Flesh, the Lust of the Eye and the Pride of Life. We must realize that without a thankful heart that is focused of worshipping Jesus, there is nothing else that will fulfill those desires. Only Christ in us, filling our hearts with joy, peace and contentment in the Spirit, can fulfill the heart’s desire of man.
The temple in Jerusalem was destroyed right down to the foundation. The walls of the city were burned with fire, and when the Jews were led away into captivity, many would never return. Only the poorest of the poor among the Jews were allowed to stay in Judah, and even those were under the watchful eye of Babylon. And all of this was because of the failure of God’s own people to have a thankful heart that desired God above all else.
During their captivity in Babylon, three times the Babylonians went back to Judah to bring more slaves into Babylon. The desire for more souls of men in Satan is insatiable. He is never satisfied with just capturing the souls of a few. He is ever going about seeking who he can destroy and his favorite target is the souls of men and women who once belonged to God. That means you and me if we let our guard down.
You will become a primary target of the devil to bring you down into captivity if you begin to lose your heart of thankfulness to the Lord; and you allow anything to begin to be an idol in your heart. I don’t care what you worship, whether it is your children, your spouse, your job, your home or your lifestyle, or whatever. If anything comes between you and being obedient to the call of God and faithful to his service, that thing becomes an idol. Be careful to not allow Jesus to be relegated to second place in your heart.
The day finally came in God’s timetable when He was going to bring Judah home. It would be a great day for those who would find their way home, to their land of promise and to that place where they could be in the presence of the Lord in Judah once again. But how many were lost? How many Jews that had failed God never had the chance to go home again? A whole generation, and more, was lost to the slavery in Babylon. A whole generation grew up in captivity, never knowing how it felt to be in God’s presence or to worship in the temple. A whole generation had forgotten what it was to be thankful for the blessings of God and what it was like to live under God’s great provision in his land of promise.
How many has the church lost already? How many more will never return to the presence of God, all because so many in the church have forgotten how to be thankful and have been driven, or taken captive, and no longer live in the presence of the Lord, or enter the House of the Lord to offer their sacrifice of praise and service to their Father in Heaven. Oh God, have mercy upon them. Don’t leave them in captivity, but send us a revival and bring those who are lost in sin, home again.
When the Jews began to go back and rebuild the walls of the city under Nehemiah, and to rebuild the Temple in Jerusalem, it was a day when thankfulness was reborn in their hearts. They once again began to praise and worship their God with joy and thanksgiving.
You see, Thanksgiving isn’t just a holiday and a time of feasting. True Thanksgiving is a way of life and an ongoing, constant manner of giving God praise and offering to him the sacrifice of your life in service and obedience to his designed plan for your life.
Look with me into the Book of Ezra in the Old Testament in chapter three. There’s something there that the Holy Spirit prompted strongly to me and I believe it speaks to the entire church in our day and time. We are living in the days when there has been, and continues to be a great “falling away” from the truth of the Word of God just as Jesus predicted. The very foundations of the gospel are eroding. Many today no longer believe in a literal Heaven or Hell. Many of the seminaries today no longer teach the virgin birth of Christ. And many no longer believe in the Rapture of the church. Repentance for sin is no longer the message, but it is now a message of acceptance no matter how you’re living. Those are great holes in the very foundation of the church that Jesus desires.
But I believe that there is coming a renewal, a revival that is sparked by the Holy Spirit as the church that is faithful will pray.
As Judah began to rebuild, something begins to happen:
Ezra 3:11 And they sang together by course in praising and giving thanks unto the LORD; because he is good, for his mercy endureth for ever toward Israel. And all the people shouted with a great shout, when they praised the LORD, because the foundation of the house of the LORD was laid.
Do you see what was happening? They all sang together, in their own time and after their own manner by course; and they all began to give praise to God and what else? THEY ALL BEGAN TO GIVE THANKS! Their thankfulness was a sign of their love for God and for the blessings He has returned to them. A thankful heart is a blessed heart! Thankfulness is the sign that the people of God truly realize where their provision lies. Thankfulness is the attitude that arises in the heart of man when he knows that all that he enjoys are gifts from a loving Father in Heaven.
And why were the Jews so thankful in that day? Those who had never known the joy of being free in God were finally beginning to know that freedom once again. They understood that it was only by the mercies of God that Judah was coming home.
Now look at what verse 11 says next: “Because the foundation of the house of the Lord was laid”
What’s it going to take for a true revival in the church? What’s it going to take for the heart of Thanksgiving to return to our nation again?
It’s going to take the laying again of the very foundation of the gospel as was taught and preached by the apostles at the very foundation of the church. It’s going to mean getting back to the basics.
The Apostle Paul told us that if any man, or if any angel, preached any other gospel than what he had preached that it would be no gospel at all, but a message of deceit designed to lead men away from God. Those “other gospels, that are not gospels at all” abound in the world today. Only the true gospel is “good news”. All others lead to captivity and destruction in the slave pits of hell itself.
It’s time for the church to lay the right foundation again. Our only message is Jesus crucified for sin and that we are cleansed through His blood. Repentance for sin and surrendering to Christ is the foundation. Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and what He has done for you on the cross; that He died, was buried and arose the third day. Repent of the life of sin and surrender your heart to Jesus, then walk faithfully according His Word. That’s the very foundation of the gospel.
Nowhere does Paul preach that you have to be rich or poor, old or young, beautiful or afraid to look in the mirror, or bond or free. All he preached is repentance and believing in Jesus for salvation. We, the church and foolish preachers, have tried to add or take away so much that the gospel has been lost. We need to get back to that firm foundation, for it is only upon the foundation of Jesus Christ that the church will stand against the attacks of the world and wiles of the devil.
What a day that will be, when the soul of each man, woman, boy or girl, will come to see and understand the foundation of the gospel. they will finally understand what it truly means to come home. Their captivity will come to an end. Lord, may there be many! Send them home Jesus. Send your decree that they may come home once again and see the foundation once more.
Now look more at the scriptures with me.
Ezra 3:12 But many of the priests and Levites and chief of the fathers, who were ancient men, that had seen the first house, when the foundation of this house was laid before their eyes, wept with a loud voice; and many shouted aloud for joy:
Ezra 3:13 So that the people could not discern the noise of the shout of joy from the noise of the weeping of the people: for the people shouted with a loud shout, and the noise was heard afar off.
Let me tell you what I see here.
There are those among us who know what it is like to see the altars of the Lord’s House filled with souls crying out to God in repentance and receiving Christ into their hearts. We have seen the Holy Spirit flood over their souls and watched in awe as the Spirit of God gave them a new heart of thankfulness and joy filled their hearts.
I believe we can see that again if we will lay the right foundation! Only the preaching of the true gospel can set the soul free from captivity! Only the pure Word of God can result in a true revival!
And when it begins to happen, will it not bring a tear of joy to your eyes and shout of thanksgiving to your heart? I don’t doubt that the church will be a little bit noisier when that happens! How can we see souls being born again, lives being changed, people being filled with the Holy Ghost and a revival of thanksgiving arising without giving a shout of joy and of praise unto the Lord for His great mercy!
What a joy it will be to see your loved ones, and our children and grand-children; and some of those that you thought might not ever make it, come down to the altar, or find an altar where they are, and give their hearts to Jesus! It won’t matter so much where they’ve been, or what they’ve done. All that matters is that they are coming out of captivity and coming home to dwell in the presence of the Lord!
Those who are afar off will see and hear what’s happening! They won’t know what’s going on, or figure out at first that it’s a mighty move of God, and they might think it’s just a lot of noise. But oh what a day that will be when the shout goes forth, and the people begin to praise, and a true heart of thanksgiving is created in us once again!
On this Thanksgiving Day, as you gather around with family and friends, start laying that foundation in those around you. Let them know that true thanksgiving can only be result of knowing the Savior and what Jesus has done for them.
