Five Kernels of Corn at Thanksgiving
Thanksgiving sermon
Chuck Sligh
November 19, 2017
Adapted from Five Kernels Of Corn, by Bruce Howell on SermonCentral.com.
TEXT: Psalms 103:1-5 – “Bless the LORD, O my soul: and all that is within me, bless his holy name. 2 Bless the LORD, O my soul, and forget not all his benefits: 3 Who forgiveth all thine iniquities; who healeth all thy diseases; 4 Who redeemeth thy life from destruction; who crowneth thee with lovingkindness and tender mercies; 5 Who satisfieth thy mouth with good things; so that thy youth is renewed like the eagle’s.”
INTRODUCTION
Illus. – Two men were walking through a field one day when they spotted an enraged bull. Instantly they darted toward the nearest fence. The furious bull followed in hot pursuit, and it was soon apparent they wouldn’t make it.
Terrifed, the one shouted to the other, “Put up a prayer, John. We’re in for it!”
John answered, “I can’t. I’ve never made a public prayer in my life.”
“But you must!” implored his companion. “The bull is catching up to us.”
“All right,” panted John, “I’ll say the only prayer I know, the one my father used to repeat at the table: ‘O Lord, for what we are about to receive, make us truly thankful.’”
As you know, this Thursday will be Thanksgiving, which tradition tells us began with the Pilgrims. The Pilgrim fathers who landed at Plymouth Rock over 300 years ago knew nothing of the prosperous times you and I enjoy today.
Illus. – The next time you’re tempted to complain about the economy and the cost of living, remember the following:
--During that first long winter at Plymouth Colony, seven times as many graves were made for the dead as homes for the living.
--The ship which was supposed to bring food and relief brought 35 more mouths to feed, but not an ounce of provisions.
And yet, William Brewster, one of the colony’s leaders, rising from a sparse Plymouth dinner consisting of a plate of clams and a glass of cold water, thanked God “for the abundance of the sea and the treasures hid in the sand.”
The Pilgrims didn’t have much, but they possessed a great gratitude, and it was upon this spirit of gratefulness, and these stalwart people—strong, devout and sincere—that America was built.
The descendants of the first Pilgrims had a custom of putting five kernels of corn upon each empty plate before a dinner of “thanksgiving” was served. Each member of the family would pick up a kernel and tell what they were thankful for. It was to remind them that the first Pilgrims were in such dire straits that their allowance was only five kernels of corn per person each day.
We have many reasons to be thankful. Let’s take the idea of five kernels of corn, and using Psalm 103:1-5 as a basis, consider five things to praise God for this Thanksgiving.
In verse 1, David says, “Bless the LORD, O my soul: and all that is within me, bless his holy name.” In this verse, David called upon his body, mind, soul and spirit to join in one grand symphony of praise for the benefits God had so graciously bestowed upon him.
Let’s look at David’s five kernels of thankfulness in our text this morning.
I. FIRST IS THE KERNAL OF FORGIVENESS – Verse 3 – “Who forgiveth all thine iniquities…”
The word “iniquities” is a strong one. It doesn’t mean “mistakes.” God forgives our INIQUITIES—all our ingrained perversity, all the “bentness” towards self and selfishness and sin of our being and all the wicked actions and thoughts these lead us to do and think.
David sees the believer as a forgiven sinner. “He forgiveth all our iniquities.” Now, there’s an item for praise! One of the blessed truths of the Gospel is that when we’re saved, God forgives all the sin we HAVE EVER DONE and all of the sin WE WILL EVER DO.
How extensive is His forgiveness? In Psalms 103:12 David says that, “As far as the east is from the west, so far hath he removed our transgressions from us.”
Do you know how far that is?—That’s the length of infinity because if you travel north from a given point, sooner or later you’ll reach the North Pole, a definite end point; and if you continue traveling from that point, you’ll be going south until you reach the South Pole, another definite terminus.
But East and west are a different matter. You can start to travel east and there is no terminus—no end point. There is no East Pole or West Pole. So long as you continue going east or west, no matter how long you continue, you keep going in that direction. West extends for infinity and east extends for infinity in completely opposite directions. In other words, God removes our sin from Him to infinitude.
Do you have the assurance that you are saved and your sins are forgiven? One of my favorite verses in the Bible is 1 John 5:13 that says, “These things have I written unto you that believe on the name of the Son of God; that ye may know that ye have eternal life, and that ye may believe on the name of the Son of God.”
You can KNOW that your sins are forgiven. You can have the ASSURANCE that God has forgiven you of all sin and made you part of His family.
How?—By realizing that you are a sinner in need of God’s grace, and realizing that God sent His Son, Jesus Christ, to live a perfect, sinless life and die on the cross in your place to pay the penalty for your sin. And the Bible says that if you’ll repent and trust in Jesus Christ as your Savior, He’ll forgive you of sin and make you part of His family.
I wonder if you’ve ever done that? I challenge you this morning to give your life to Jesus. It doesn’t matter who you are, where you’re from, or what your background—we ALL have the disease of sin that separates us from God and it is only through turning to Christ that you can have our sins forgiven, be in right relationship with God and have the assurance of eternal life.
Don’t leave here this morning until you have settled the matter of your eternal destiny and your relationship with God. Then you’ll have something ETERNAL to be thankful for this Thanksgiving.
II. SECOND IS THE KERNAL OF HEALING IN THE SECOND PART OF VERSE 3 – “…who healeth all thy diseases.”
Now we know for a fact that God does not heal all disease, even when we earnestly request healing. So, what does this verse mean?
First, remember that all healing is divine healing and all recovery from sickness, injury and surgery is the result of the healing properties that God has built into our bodies. – So, healing through medicine, surgery and therapy are merely extensions of God’s healing ministry.
Second, this verse doesn’t mean that God heals everyone’s diseases, but that it is HE who heals all diseases. He is the Great Physician. Whenever ANYONE is healed from disease, whether it be by a miracle, or by conventional medicine—ultimately GOD is the healer.
The larger point I want you to see is that one of the greatest blessings you should thank God for this Thanksgiving is your health and the health of your family!
-- If you can get up in the morning and carry out your daily duties with a minimum of pain or sickness, you should be thankful.
-- If you were not diagnosed with cancer or a terminal disease this year, you should give thanks because millions of people around the world live in terrible conditions with substandard healthcare, and they were not so fortunate.
-- This past year, your children have been and ARE daily being exposed to millions of viruses and bugs that in years gone by could have been a death sentence, and yet because of God’s mercy or the miracle of modern medicine, they are well and healthy today.
Don’t take these things for granted. This Thanksgiving, be grateful to God that He has healed you and kept you healthy.
III. NOTICE THIRD, THE KERNAL OF DELIVERANCE FROM DESTRUCTION. – Verse 4 says, “Who redeemeth thy life from destruction.”
You may never know what destruction you may have been saved from this year because of God’s protection. Had you entered an intersection 5 seconds earlier or later, you might be singing in the heavenly chorus today, but for God’s deliverance from destruction. Had you not realized in a split second that you had left that pan of grease on too long, it could have burst into flames, but for God’s deliverance from destruction.
Some of you experienced car accidents or children in the hospital with serious ailments which could have been catastrophic, except for God’s deliverance.
I know that many of you in this military church have been delivered from the destruction of war. You were deployed to Iraq or Afghanistan, and you knew full well that you could come back in a casket draped with an American flag. But God delivered you, and I want you to know that He did so for a reason! In His sovereignty and wisdom, God allowed some to go into eternity, but He allowed you to live.
Whether it was something you never even knew COULD have happened, or something that did happen that could have been much worse, or surviving war, the question is, WHY did God deliver you from destruction?
He did so because He still has a plan for your life. That plan is revealed in Isaiah 43:7 where we’re told that we are created for God’s glory, and in Ephesians 1:4-6, which tells us that the saved have been predestinated for the praise of God’s glory.
Are you fulfilling the purpose for which you were created?—To live your life in such a way that your words, actions, attitudes, habits, and thoughts bring glory to God?
Illus. – [HOLD UP A PEN] In my hand and a simple, everyday pen. It was created with only one purpose for its existence: to write. I went to a church one time and they gave me a pen with the church’s name and logo on it and also a guest card to fill out. I started writing on the guest card, but no ink came out. I shook it to get the ink flowing…and no ink! Then I wrote harder on the back of the guest card in big circles, trying to get the ink to come out…and still no ink. It was a useless piece of plastic parts with a metal spring and tip.
Now, let me ask you a question: What good is a pen that won’t write? (It’s GOOD FOR NOTHING.) A pen that does not write is not fulfilling the purpose for which it was created.
You too were created for a purpose: the bring glory to God through your life, your words and your attitudes. Are you fulfilling God’s purpose for your life? If not, I urge you to turn to God and live for His glory! If you are fulfilling God’s purpose in your life living for His glory, you have much to be thankful for, for God’s way is always the way that is filled purpose, meaning and joy and a life lived with purpose, meaning and joy is the best kind of life there is!
IV. FOURTH IS THE KERNAL OF GOD’S LOVE AND MERCY – The second part of verse 4 says, “who crowneth thee with lovingkindness and tender mercies.”
The Hebrew word translated “lovingkindness” here is chesed, which means “steadfast love, steadfast goodness, kindness faithfulness” and in the Old Testament is translated as “mercy” 149 times, “kindness” 40 times, “lovingkindness” 30 times, “goodness” 12 times, “kindly” five times, “merciful” four times, “favor” three times, one time each it is translated as “good,” “goodliness,” “pity.” These are a lot of GOOD things!
David says that those who belong to God are “crowned” with God’s steadfast love and tender mercies. I thought that was an unusual way to put it—We’re “crowned” with these things. My commentaries explained that crowning suggests bestowing blessing. Adam Clarke said in his commentary, “The idea here is not merely that God is the source of these blessings, but that there is something of beauty, of dignity, of honor, as in the conferring of a crown or garland on anyone.” Are you getting an idea of how fortunate you are to be the recipient of God’s grace?
God shows us His steadfast love and tender mercies every day of our lives; we just don’t recognize it. We’re so busy counting our problems, we can’t see the wonderful manifestations of His steadfast love and tender mercies all around us.
I’ll talk about God’s wonderful blessings of provision of material things in a minute, but just think for a moment of God’s steadfast love and tender mercies in the spiritual realm. Truly, we all deserve nothing better than hell and judgment for our sin and waywardness from God, but Paul reminds us in Ephesians 2:4 that God is “RICH in mercy, for his great love wherewith He loved us.”
How good, merciful and loving our God is! I hope this Thanksgiving you’ll give thank God thanks for His manifold acts of love and mercy in your life.V.
V. LAST, AT THE END OF VERSE 5 IS THE KERNAL OF PROVISION – “Who satisfieth thy mouth with good things; so that thy youth is renewed like the eagle’s.”
Think of all the good material things the Lord has blessed you with! We are the richest people on the earth!
Paul said in 1 Timothy 6:8 that we should be thankful if all we have in this life is food and raiment (clothing). Everything else beyond that is just icing on the cake.
But we have so much more! We have material blessings beyond the wildest dreams of the rest of the world or the people of past generations. One of our biggest problems as Americans is not hunger or starvation, but bulging waistlines because we have so much abundance of food.
Maybe you didn’t have the best year this past year, but you should thank God that none or your houses burned down; none of your children went without meals; none of your kids need to go without Christmas gifts this year; and none of you lost all your material possessions.
Oh listen, God has been SO good to you! I hope you’ll pause this Thanksgiving and give thanks to God for His many acts of steadfast love and tender mercies He has crowned you with.
CONCLUSION
David tells himself in verse 2, “Bless the LORD, O my soul, and forget not all his benefits.” What if you all REALLY thanked God for EVERYTHING in your life, even all the mundane things you take for granted. While our sound man is reeling up a video, let me tell you a story.
Illus. – We used to have some military intelligence people in our church in Wiesbaden. I thought the constant joke that “military intelligence” was an oxymoron was unfair. Some of the ones in our church were true geniuses, although I have to admit, some of them were a little…uh…“different.”
In our Wednesday night prayer meetings, it was our custom to gather in small groups and each person in the group would take turns praying. I remember the first time this one MI guy prayed. I found out later he was considered one of the best Russian linguists there was and was deployed when they needed a linguist for high level communication.
In other words, he was a genius. Well, the first time I heard him pray, he started praying like a small child. He said, “Lord, thank you for the trees and the grass and for our cars and our houses and our families”…and on he went like that for a while.
I had never heard an adult pray this way, and I actually opened my eyes to see if he were mocking our prayer! But he was earnest and sincere. He was truly being thankful for all these little things we take for granted. I was challenged by his grateful heart.
What if, this year, as you enter Thanksgiving week and gear up for the Christmas season, you approached your life like this family in this video: [See YouTube video at http://www.charlottestories.com/local-charlotte-church-released-christmas-video-thats-going-viral-4-million-views/]
On Thanksgiving, it’s not unusual for us give thanks to God for all His blessings and goodness. But we forget all that in the run-up to Christmas, with so much commercialism and focus on material things.
May it be different this year!
1) This year, thank God for forgiving you all your iniquities.
If you’re not sure your sins are forgiven by Jesus’ sacrifice on Calvary, please turn your life over to Christ today. Put your faith in the Lord Jesus Christ alone, not trusting in your works or your religion, or your piety, or your goodness or your good deeds.
2) Believer, this Thanksgiving give thanks to God for your health and healing.
3) This Thanksgiving, give thanks to God for delivering your life from destruction and vow to fulfill the purpose for which God saved you—to live your life to the glory of God.
4) This Thanksgiving, thank God for His numerable acts of love and mercy in your life which you do not deserve, but He so wondrously showers upon you.
5) This Thanksgiving, thank God for His provision for all your needs, and so, so many of your wants.
