As I preach this message I would like to show you why it is a good thing to give thanks unto the Lord.
We usually think of being thankful as being connected with good manners.
Illus: A man gave a little child a piece of candy. The mother was embarrassed, because the child immediately stuck the candy in his mouth and ate it, and did not say thanks.
• The Mother immediately said, “What do you say to the nice man who gave you a piece of candy?”
• The little boy seemed somewhat puzzled as to what she was wanting him to say, but suddenly a smile came on his face, as if he finally realized what she wanted him to say, and he said, “Can I have more!”
The way this little child reacted to the kindness of the man, seems to be a reaction today that we often see in our society.
We live in a society that is truly ungrateful.
Illus: It seems that there use to be a time when PARENTS use to stress the importance of good manners to their children from the time they were very young.
• They taught them how to properly address adults.
• They taught them how to show respect for each other and for adults.
• They taught them to express their thankfulness when anyone was kind to them or gave something to them.
These were some basic things just about ALL PARENTS used to teach their children.
Then the PUBLIC SCHOOLS reinforced those good teachings at school. Along with teaching reading, writing, and arithmetic, they taught such things as:
• Kindness
• Courteous
• Cooperation
• Gratitude
• Friendliness
• Patience
They considered these things to be as important as teaching reading, writing, and arithmetic.
It is a sad day in our country now because it seems that MANY PARENTS and MANY SCHOOLS no longer place emphasis on good manners as they once did.
We have raised a generation of ungrateful individuals. They spend much time griping and grumbling.
What a contrast to the way things used to be.
For example,
• There was a time when store clerks would thank customers for their patronage. They recognized they would not have a job if it were not for the customers. You could feel the appreciation as you went through the cashier’s line. Often today one is made to feel that he needs to apologize for disturbing cashiers, or for imposing on their time, to get them to wait on them.
• There used to be a time when you could drive into a service station and an attendant, with a big smile, would greet you and ask how he could help you. Now you pull up and all you see are the signs that instruct you how to pump your own gas.
We are in the middle of an AGE OF INGRATITUDE.
That is, we have many in this society who are holding out their hands, and they will take anything and everything that you will put in them.
The least they could do is on “Thanksgiving Day” send all the hard working taxpayers a THANK YOU NOTE.
But this is something we taxpayers will never receive.
We live in a society that fails to show gratitude.
Illus: Some time back people read a newspaper report of a ship that sank in Lake Michigan. One young man braved the cold waters, swimming to the sinking ship and bringing someone back to shore with him over nineteen times. He actually saved 19 lives! He later reported that not one of those people came to him to so much as say, “Thank You!”
Ingratitude is certainly a problem today, but it seems that in the day of Christ it was also prevalent.
Illus: Remember the ten lepers that Christ healed? Only one came back to thank Him. Christ noticed their lack of gratitude.
He asked the one who came back to thank Him where the other nine were.
The bright side of this is that in this age of ingratitude Christians have an excellent opportunity to express their gratitude for the many blessings God has bestowed upon us.
• A light can be best seen in darkness.
• Gratitude can best be seen in a world of ungrateful people.
The psalmist shows us why we should have a THANKFUL HEART.
He shows us...
I. IT IS A GOOD THING TO DO.
In Psalm 92:1 we read, “It is a good thing to give thanks unto the LORD, and to sing praises unto thy name, O most High:”
One of the most worthwhile things you and I can do is take time to give thanks to the Lord.
We could never thank Him enough for what He has done.
• Every day we live on this earth is a gift from God and we should thank Him. Because some did not wake up this morning!
• Every day we enjoy good health this is a gift from God and we should thank Him. Because some do not have good health!
• Every day we have food to eat this is a gift from God and we should thank Him. Because some do not have a food to eat!!!
• Every day when we are dressing ourselves this is a gift from God and we should be thankful!!! Because some do not have a closet full of clothes!
• Every day we get in our car and drive to work this is a gift from God and we should be thankful!!! Because some do not have a car!
Yes, I agree with the Psalmist IT IS A GOOD THING TO GIVE THANKS UNTO THE LORD!!!
We have these blessings because God is gracious enough to give them to us and we should THANK HIM!!!
There is nothing you and I could do as Christians that reveals to the world that Christ is in our lives than having a THANKFUL SPIRIT!
There are so many things to be thankful for each day.
Illus: This reminds me of an ungodly man who came to know Christ. Before he was saved he was known for his temper and the foul language he would frequently use.
However, he was gloriously saved and the news of his conversion spread among his many coworkers at his job.
A group of men decided to “test” his religion. They hid his lunch box. Lunch time came and they all waited to hear the profanity that would usually come from his lips.
To their surprise he said, “Praise the Lord! At least I still have an appetite.”
All of us are guilty of not thanking God the way we should. Why is it A GOOD THING TO GIVE THANKS unto the Lord?
A. It is good to give thanks to the Lord because giving thanks lightens life’s burdens.
We look around and see two kinds of people.
(1) First, we see people whose lives are full of trouble.
That is; their lives are like dumping grounds. Everything that is bad that could be dumped on them seems to have dumped on them.
2. Second, we see people whose lives are full of blessings.
Their lives are like a flower garden. Everything beautiful that could be planted in one has been “planted” in their lives.
We see these two kinds of people, but actually there is only ONE KIND.
Job said, Job 5:7, “Yet man is born unto trouble, as the sparks fly upward.”
Every person alive has his load of problems to take care of in this life.
Illus: Some do a good job of concealing their problems. Others do not do so well, but everyone has trouble according to God’s Word.
What makes some people DIFFERENT from others is the way they react to those problems.
Some choose to MURMUR constantly. They cannot see that there is anything good in life. All they can see is that life is full of sorrow. They are quick to tell you that everyone else has something to be grateful for, but they do not have anything.
Illus: They have things to be grateful for also, but they are like the man who cannot see the forest because their nose is up against a tree.
Listen, it doesn’t matter how bad things may be at times, you can always be thankful because things could be worse!
Illus: Dr. Odell Belger was in his work shop cutting a board. He cut his finger and had to have seven stiches in his hand. He said he was grateful he could have cut 3 or 4 of his fingers!!!
SOME CHOOSE TO LIVE CONSTANTLY MURMURING!
Also...
Some choose to constantly be GIVING THANKS.
Do they have problems? Sure they do. They have as many problems as the next person, but they have discovered that life is too short to live on the DARK SIDE OF LIFE. They prefer to live on the BRIGHT SIDE OF LIFE and be thankful for all the good things.
A thankful attitude, more than anything else, helps us keep our eyes fixed on the brighter side of life.
Illus: Anyone who has dealt with people who suffer with chronic depression will tell you that all of those people THINK ON THE NEGATIVE and TALK ONLY OF THE NEGATIVE.
• You can tell them it is a beautiful day and they will say, “Yes, but it is supposed to rain tomorrow.”
• You can tell them that a glass is half full and they will say, “Yes, but is it also half empty.”
• The pessimist expects nothing on a silver platter except tarnish.
• Someone said, “The pessimist is a person who absorbs sunshine and radiates gloom.”
He cannot find a thing to be thankful about because all he can see are the bad things that happen to him.
And the reason he cannot see the good things is because all he looks for are the bad things.
The Psalmist said, “It is a good thing to give thanks unto the Lord...”
Why?
BECAUSE THANKFULNESS LIGHTENS LIFE’S BURDENS.
It keeps us focused on the POSITIVE. If we are focused on the positive then we will not have time to dwell on the NEGATIVE.
Next...
B. It is good to give thanks to the Lord because thankfulness quickens our spiritual perception.
Illus: How many children do you know that perceives that their mother is a loving and caring person?
That is; every day that precious mother watches over her child from the time he gets up until he goes to sleep.
The mother:
• Feeds the child.
• Washes his clothes.
• Irons his clothes.
• Mends his clothes.
Yet to hear the ungrateful child talk about his mother you would perceive his mother has ruined his life by placing demands upon him when she requires him to take baths, wear clean clothes and eat the right kinds of food.
To hear him talk you would think his parents were his enemies.
• Every day an ungrateful child is thinking his mother is only fulfilling her obligation when she serves him. He has the wrong PERCEPTION of his mother.
• Yet another child, that perceives his mother to be a loving and caring individual, will fly into her arms and say, “Mom, I appreciate all that you do for me and I thank you from the bottom of my heart.”
The same principal applies to us, spiritually:
• We have some who soak up the blessings of God and they are not grateful.
• They see God, the Father, showering His blessings on them and they feel He is fulfilling His obligation to them by serving them. Why should they be thankful to God? He is only doing what He is supposed to be doing. Their PERCEPTION of God is wrong!
• We have others who receive the blessings of God, and every time God blesses them their SPIRITUAL PERCEPTION is this -- GOD IS A GOOD GOD! He does not have to bless them, but He has blessed and their GRATITUDE reveals that they PERCEIVE God to be a good God Who is gracious to them.
The Bible says, “It is a good thing to give thanks unto the Lord...”
Why?
(1)BECAUSE THANKFULNESS LIGHTENS LIFE’S BURDENS.
(2)BECAUSE THANKFULNESS QUICKENS OUR SPIRITUAL PERCEPTION.
The Psalmist is absolutely right! IT IS A GOOD THING TO GIVE THANKS UNTO THE LORD.
IT IS A GOOD THING TO DO and also...
II. IT IS A DAILY THING TO DO.
Look at Psalm 92:2. We read, “To show forth thy lovingkindness in the morning, and thy faithfulness every night.”
Notice, the Psalmist mentions two times to “show forth” our gratitude.
A. In the morning.
This is one of the best times to offer up thanksgiving to the Lord.
Why?
Every day that God allows us to open our eyes and live another day on this earth should never be taken lightly.
Illus: Someone said, “Every day is like a resurrection.” From the depths of sleep, we rise up to serve the Lord.
One day the sun will rise and we will not be here, but for now, every day that God allows us to open our eyes and enjoy another day with our FAMILY and FRIENDS we should start the day off with THANKSGIVING.
Another reason it is such a good time is because our mind and heart are cleaner from the world before we get involved in the day’s activities.
IT IS GOOD TO GIVE THANKS UNTO THE LORD IN THE MORNING.
It is good also to give thanks unto the Lord...
B. In the evening.
Every evening it should be a set thing that we do before we close our eyes to take a few minutes to do a little self-examination and “Count Our Blessings and Name Them One By One” and give thanks unto the Lord.
If we counted all the blessings of God on our lives at the end of each day before we went to sleep we would see that they far out number the trials we have had to face.
Conclusion:
IT IS A GOOD THING TO GIVE THANKS UNTO THE LORD. Everyone would not agree with that.
Illus: A magazine polled some famous people around the world.
• They were asked this question, “If you could be granted one wish that would come true right now, what would that be?”
• Many of them said, “I wish that I could be given an even greater ability to appreciate all that I really have.”
Wouldn’t it be wonderful if all of us had a greater ability to be more appreciative.
• It would solve a lot of the family problems we have
• It would solve a lot of the school problems we have
• It would solve a lot of the neighborhood problems we have
• It would solve a lot of the church problems we have
• It would absolutely revolutionize the world in which we live
Many times we complain about things and we do not have reason to complain.
Illus: One afternoon a shopper at the local mall felt the need for a coffee break.
She bought herself a little bag of cookies and put them in her shopping bag.
She then purchased some coffee, found a place to sit at one of the crowded tables, and then, taking the lid off her coffee and taking out a magazine, she began to sip her coffee and read. Across the table from her, a man sat reading a newspaper.
After a minute or two, she reached out and took a cookie. As she did, the man seated across the table reached out and took one also.
This stunned her, but she did not say anything.
A few moments later she took another cookie. Once again the man did so also.
Now she was getting a bit upset, but still she did not say anything.
After having a couple of sips of coffee, she once again took another cookie. So did the man.
She was really upset by this - especially since now only one cookie was left. Apparently the man also realized that only one cookie was left.
Before she could say anything he took it, broke it in half, offered half to her, and proceeded to eat the other half himself.
Then he smiled at her and, putting the paper under his arm, got up and walked off.
Was she steamed! Her coffee break was ruined. Thinking ahead of how she would tell her family about this offensive incident, she folded her magazine, opened her shopping bag, and there, discovered her own unopened bag of cookies.
Many times we complain about things we have no business complaining about.
Look at verse 6. We read, “A brutish man knoweth not; neither doth a fool understand this.”
The psalmist says that some people live as if they were dumb, “brute” beasts.
Illus: He may have had in mind the fact that you can buy the best quality hog feed available, but the hog will show no gratitude whatsoever for your having gone to the trouble and expense of providing that for him.
God has given people six days to do the things they have to get done, yet today, as the Lord’s day dawned, it never crossed their minds that they should go to church and thank the Lord.
They should have, but they live like the dumb, “brute,” beasts
God bless us every week but He expects us to be grateful.________________________________________Psalms 100:4 KJV: Enter into his gates with thanksgiving, and into his courts with praise: be thankful unto him, and bless his name.
The Word of God tells us…
I. IT IS A GOOD THING TO DO.
II. IT IS A DAILY THING TO DO.
