Is anyone here familiar with the writings of Rudyard Kipling? He is best known for writing RikiTikiTavi and the Jungle Book. At one time Kipling was one of the most popular writers in the world. In fact, his writings were so popular that he was getting ten shillings per word. If you translate into our money and our time that would be well over $100 a word.
There was a group of college students who heard about Kipling¡¦s earning per word and for some reason they were put off by it. So as a joke they gathered ten shillings and sent it to Kipling. Sarcastically, they stated that they knew how much he earned per word and asked for his best word. Kipling politely answered their request with just one word: thanks.
Different ways to say thank you
Danke ¡V German meaning Thank you often paired with schoen which means thank you kindly
Merci ¡V French for Thank you
Arigato ¡V Japanese
Mahalo ¡V Hawaiian for
Gracias ¡V Spanish
16 Be joyful always; 17 pray continually; 18 give thanks in all circumstances, for this is God's will for you in Christ Jesus. 1 Thessalonians 5:16-18
We make Thanksgiving Day about family. How many of you are planning to travel to spend time with family? How many of you are having family come in? Either we travel to the family or the family is invited to come join us. We get together with those we love and maybe those we haven¡¦t seen in a long time.
We make Thanksgiving Day about food. We spend large amounts of time preparing food and our special items that make the meal special. The world might come to an end if the meal was missing our favorite cranberry sauce or casserole that we love. Then we sit down to a big meal and gorge ourselves with turkey and Pumpkin pie.
We make Thanksgiving Day about entertainment. We turn on the television early so we can watch those wonderful parades in New York, Philadelphia or Chicago. We then are ready to spend the afternoon watching football or some other sporting event. We might have a heart attack if we missed that all important football game. Then when evening comes we watch some concert or some television special.
The word thanksgiving literally means to give thanks. This means that we show our gratitude for the things that we are blessed with. The real question on our minds is not whether we should be thankful but who we need to be thankful to. The Hebrew word for thanks means to make public. When was the last time that you publically thanked God for His blessings?
Thesis: Thanksgiving is the product of an inward experience that results in an upward focus and an outward expression.
Powerpoint slide to further define
Inward Experience „³ Upward Focus „³ Outward Expression
Old Testament Understanding of Thanks
Paul makes it clear that the issue of giving thanks is not a matter of mere words but instead is an issue of understanding. The Hebrew word for thanks is yaddah. The Hebrew language has no word for that simply means thanks. The word we translate as thanks in English means much more in Hebrew. The word yadah means, "to make public acknowledgment." This is the same word that we get our English word confess. This comes in two manners: confessing the name of God, publicly proclaiming His name and confessing our sins.
Giving thanks is an act of humbling ourselves before God and showing gratitude toward God for His bountiful blessings. When we confess the name of God, we are telling of all that He has done for us. When we confess our sins to God we are telling of all we have done against Him. Both take tremendous courage and humility.
New Testament Understanding of Thanks
The Greek word for thanks is eucharisto, which is where we derive one of the terms for communion, the Eucharist. The meaning is to have an attitude and a demonstration of thanks for what God has done. There is more than just saying thanks, there is a display of thanks by the way we live and how we follow Christ.
The early church had three concerns when it came to giving thanks to God.
We are to give thanks for the body and blood of Christ
We are to give thanks for the blessings we are given through Christ
We are to give thanks for those who come to know Christ
Being Thankful is an attitude (1 Thessalonians 5:16-18)
Paul closes his letter to the Thessalonians with three clear practices to help personal and spiritual growth. Each day we should experience joy, peace and thanks.
When we have a personal relationship with Jesus; there is a joy that nothing can take away. We experience that joy on a daily basis. Prayer is the means we continue the relationship with God. Prayer becomes our point of connection with Christ. Through prayer, we speak with God and experience His divine presence. Paul finishes these three needed behaviors with thanksgiving. We need to live with a daily attitude of thankfulness because of all the blessings that God gives us.
Is it possible to be thankful in all circumstances? Can we be thankful for evil situations, trials, and tragedies?
Bad things happen to good, godly people every day. Paul does not say we should be thankful for bad things or evil situations. Notice what Paul said: be thankful in all circumstances. There is never a time when we should be thankful for evil. However, we can be thankful in difficult times. We are to be thankful in bad situations not for them. As Christians, we know that life has its share of hard times but we also know that Christ is with us through those hard times. No matter what life may throw at us, Christ is with us.
We can be victorious in the midst of hardships and trials. Listen to what Jesus told the disciples: "I have told you these things, so that in me you may have peace. In this world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world." John 16:33 Jesus brings us His victory over the world. He brings us the spirit of overcoming.
Jesus is the embodiment of Thanksgiving
1. Jesus embodies the power of God wrapped in humanity
2. Jesus embodies the presence of God contained in human existence
3. Jesus embodies the provision of God combined in the fallen nature without sin
Jesus is our reason to give thanks to God. We give thanks because Jesus made the choice to become human. He chose to become everything He was not, so we might gain the nature of who He is. Jesus become human so we might regain the image of God and the relationship we lost in the Garden of Eden.
We give thanks because Jesus is the presence of God in this fallen world. Just as God walked with Adam in the Garden and had fellowship with him. Jesus walked among us to draw us back to that essential relationship. Jesus brought us the presence of God in human form.
How do we live with an attitude of gratitude?
1. Remember to count your blessings
God has a get rich quick plan for your life: count your blessings. Taking the blessings of God for granted is an easy thing to do. We get caught up in the hectic pace of life and busyness takes over. We lose sight of our blessings in the midst of the blur. The key to counting our blessings is to slow down, to pause, to reflect. Thanksgiving Day was set aside to actually give thanks. It was done to remember the goodness of God.
Tips for counting blessings
* Start small
If we cannot be thankful for the small things, we will lose sight of the big things too.
Air to breathe Clean water to drink Vehicles Freedom to go where we wish
* Consider the impact of our blessings
How would your life be different without those blessings?
What would happen if God chose to remove our blessings today because we forgot to thank Him yesterday?
2. Remember who has blessed you
Many people take their blessings as something they have earned or that it is some form of right that they have in life. Many want to remove God from the equation because they are uncomfortable with the thought that they need to be thankful to someone other than themselves. We tend to forget that every good and precious gift comes from above.
In his book FOLK PSALMS OF FAITH, Ray Stedman tells of an experience H.A. Ironside had in a crowded restaurant. Just as Ironside was about to begin his meal, a man approached and asked if he could join him. Ironside invited his to have a seat. Then, as was his custom, Ironside bowed his head in prayer. When he opened his eyes, the other man asked, "Do you have a headache?" Ironside replied, "No, I don't." The other man asked, "Well, is there something wrong with your food?" Ironside replied, "No, I was simply thanking God as I always do before I eat."
The man said, "Oh, you're one of those, are you? Well, I want you to know I never give thanks. I earn my money by the sweat of my brow and I don't have to give thanks to anybody when I eat. I just start right in!"
Ironside said, "Yes, you're just like my dog. That's what he does too!"
Ray Stedman, Folk Psalms of Faith.
Sermonillustrations.com
3. Remember to bless others
God made it clear to Abraham that He was blessed to be a blessing to others. Nothing has changed from that day to today. God gives us blessings for the purpose that we might be able to bless others.
