INTRODUCTION
• VIDEO CLIP
• SLIDE #1
• We are getting ready to celebrate Thanksgiving, and this leads us into the next characteristic we need to allow to develop. Being Thankful!
• Speaking of which, how many had a nice time at our Thanksgiving Dinner last Sunday? How many of us had to repent after last Sunday?
• Each day we are being transformed into the image of Jesus, and one thing we can see concerning our Lord is the fact He was thankful.
• Jesus offered up thanks to God on many occasions, so if Jesus was thankful, thankful is something that we should be.
• We live in one of the most affluent societies in history. We have more stuff available to us than at any time in the history of the world.
• We are inundated with advertisements that tell us that we do not have enough, and if we do not have what the commercial tells us we need, we have cause to be unhappy!
• When we look around, it is easy to fall into the trap of not being thankful for what we have been blessed with.
• When the Pilgrims celebrated the first Thanksgiving in 1621, only 44 of the original group that landed remained. Thankful for that?
• Would you rather land in the freezing North East or Florida? They nearly starved to death, thankfully for them the Indians helped them.
• Plus, did you see what they had to wear?
• Today, as we close in on the Thanksgiving Holiday, we will look at what we can do to cultivate the characteristic of being thankful.
• We will be in Colossians 3:15-17. In the context Paul is encouraging love and unity within the church. Within that plea we will see that Paul mentions being thankful in tow of the three verses.
• Let’s being our journey with verse 15
• SLIDE #2
• Colossians 3:15 (NET) Let the peace of Christ be in control in your heart (for you were in fact called as one body to this peace), and be thankful.
• From verse 15 we see that…
• SLIDE #3
SERMON
Being thankful requires…
I. A focused heart.
• For one to be thankful it will take focus. We can get so distracted with all the things around us that it is easy to forget that we have a lot to be thankful for.
• WE are besieged with things in our society that are designed to keep us from being content.
• For one to be thankful, they need to keep their heart focused on what is important. We need to stay tuned into the correct frequency.
• Do you hear all the local radio stations right now in your ear right now? No? They are present, but for one to hear them, one needs to have a radio tuner tuned into the correct frequency to be able to hear the station you desire to listen to.
• Our hearts need to be tuned into and focused on Christ.
• Our passage in verse 15 tells us that we need to LET THE PEACE OF CHRIST BE IN CONTROL OF YOUR HEART.
• When our heart is troubled, are we thankful for are we troubled?
• The word the NET Bible translates CONTROL is a word that refers to a referee in an athletic event. The referee makes the final decision on issues in a game, the PEACE OF CHRIST should make the final call in things we do in life.
• The referee keeps the players in the games playing by the rules of the game, the rules give the game continuity, focus, and purpose.
• In the context of seeking unity within the church, the thing that is to control us is the PEACE OF CHRIST. Our relationships should be controlled by that peace, which is more that inner peace, it is the PEACE Jesus offer us.
• SLIDE #4
• John 14:27 (NET) Peace I leave with you; my peace I give to you; I do not give it to you as the world does. Do not let your hearts be distressed or lacking in courage.
• When you consider your own life, what are you controlled by? Fear, emotion, circumstances, other people? Elections?
• When our heart is not laser focused on the peace of Christ, we will struggle with being thankful.
• When the peace of Christ does not rule or control one’s heart, we will place our focus on several other areas of life.
• Just like we spoke about concerning the election last week, no matter who wins an election, we have so much to be thankful for living in America!
• When we allow outside influences take our focus of the peace o Christ, we will not be able to be thankful.
• Back in the old days before digital tuners you had to turn the dial just right to get a good signal from an AM radio station, and the further away from the station, the more difficult it was to be able to listen to your station.
• I used to like to tune in WLS out of Chicago on the AM dial, but we were several hours from Chicago so I would have a hard time holding the signal. I used to try to listen to K-SHE 95 FM out of St. Louis, but since I was about 120 miles or so away, I had to stand in a certain way while holding the FM antenna to get a signal.
• It is much easier to FOCUS on the PEACE of Christ when we are closer to Christ.
• Let’s turn to verse 16.
• SLIDE #5
• Colossians 3:16 (NET) Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly, teaching and exhorting one another with all wisdom, singing psalms, hymns, and spiritual songs, all with grace in your hearts to God.
• SLIDE #6
Being thankful requires…
II. A joyful attitude.
• One of the killers of being thankful is one’s attitude. Think about a day in your life when you are upset, angry, or in some way juts not feeling the love. When you are in this mindset, do you feel thankful?
• Maintaining a mindset of joy is not an easy thing to do, there is so much noise that can block out one’s ability to maintain an attitude of joy.
• Remember when I talked about how difficult it was to tune in a radio station that you are far from? The closer to the signal you are, the easier it is to maintain the station.
• Back in the day of analog tuners, we used to tune in a favorite station while traveling only to find at some point we traveled so far from the station that we had a hard time holding the frequency.
• One of the ways to maintain and build an attitude of joy is to follow Paul’s instruction and let the WORD OF CHRIST RICHLY DWELL WITHIN YOU.
• The word DWELL means TO BE AT HOME.
• The meaning of the instruction is that the WORD OF CHRIST must be an integral and permanent living force in them, not just an outward performance or routine activities.
• WE need be able to do more with the Word than win a Bible Trivia, we need to let the Word transform us!
• Whenever you someone living in your home, it changes your life, the Word should have a significant impact in your life, and it will if you allow it to DWELL within you.
• When we have a joy attitude because of Jesus, we will be led to worship Him.
• When we are joyful, we are thankful.
• Many of us have seen the spoiled brat videos taken during Christmas. The one were the child gets rude and obnoxious because he got a pair of socks instead of some other expensive item for Christmas.
• Because he did not get what he wanted he throws the gift to the floor and then throws a terrible fit.
• I bet when our OCC gifts reach the children they are destine to reach, those kids will not throw a pair of socks to the ground and say STUPID SOCKS, and then start cursing the giver.
• They will thankful to receive the gift in part because they despite their poverty have joy within them.
• Thankful people can worship wholeheartedly. Gratitude opens our hearts to God’s peace and enables us to put on love. Discontented people constantly calculate what’s wrong with their lot in life.
• To increase your thankfulness, take an inventory of all you have (include your relationships, memories, abilities, and family, as well as material possessions). Use the inventory for prayers of gratitude.
• On Sunday, before worship, quit rushing around and take time to reflect on reasons for thanks. (Life Application Bible)
• Gratitude toward God overflows in praise and worship.
• Usually you can tell when someone has joy in the way they approach worship. Are they engaged or are they enduring?
• Do they feel blessed to be here or do they feel like they have been given a life sentence as punishment?
• A joyless person is not going to be a thankful person.
• SLIDE #7
• Colossians 3:17 (NET) And whatever you do in word or deed, do it all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him.
• SLIDE #8
Being thankful requires…
III. A proper perspective regarding life.
• Why do you do what you do? What is life supposed to be about? When I ascertain that life is all about me, then when things do not go the way I want to them to, I will get angry and frustrated.
• Like driving down FRY BLVD!
• Jesus reminded us in Matthew 6:25
• SLIDE #9
• Matthew 6:25 (NET) “Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or drink, or about your body, what you will wear. Isn’t there more to life than food and more to the body than clothing?
• Later in the chapter Jesus tells us that God will take care of us and to seek FIRST HIS kingdom and His righteousness.
• Everything the Christian says and everything they do should be done in the name of the Lord Jesus, realizing his constant presence and bringing honor and glory to him in every aspect and activity of daily living.
• SLIDE #10
• 1 Corinthians 10:31 (NET) So whether you eat or drink, or whatever you do, do everything for the glory of God.
• When we grasp the perspective that our life in Christ is about reflecting Him in all we do and to serve Him each moment of life, we will be able to be thankful because we realize that all we have comes from HIM!
• Notice in verse 17 we are encouraged to give thanks to God through Jesus!
• WE should be thankful that we can be in the family of God through Jesus Christ our Lord!
• When we do what we do for Him, we become selfless versus being selfish.
• When life is about more than me, life is much more fulfilling and joyful.
CONCLUSION
• When you gather around your table with your families Thursday, look around you and be thankful for what you have been blessed with. I know people who don’t even have a family to gather with.
• In Christ, we have so much to be thankful for no matter what this life has thrown at us.
• Do not make Thanksgiving the only time you are thankful, let each day be laced with an attitude of thanksgiving to our great God, who opened the door to eternal life through Jesus Christ!
