LAYERS OF THANKSGIVING 2024: THE 165-DEGREE LIFE
1 CHRONICLES 16:1-36
#layersofthanksgiving
INTRODUCTION… How Pop-Up Turkey Timers Work home.howstuffworks.com/pop-up-timer.htm [adapted]
This morning we are going to talk turkey. Millions of people throughout the United States sit down to a big meal that typically includes turkey because dining on a big roasted or fried bird has been a staple for centuries because turkey is one of the foods believed to have been shared at the first Thanksgiving celebrated in 1621. Please pay no attention to the historians who say that it is more likely that duck, geese, along with some venison was the meal. Don’t let actual factual history get in the way of the truth!
One of the helpful features of turkeys that they are born with right out of the egg is that every turkey has a pop-up timer. If that is not a signal from the Almighty God that this animal should be food, I don’t know what is!
For many people, roasting a turkey is a little bit easier thanks to a simple little gadget known as the pop-up timer. This smart piece of technology lets you know when your turkey is done so you don't have to stress over it. All you have to do is wait until the red indicator stick pops up and you know the bird is done and it's time to eat.
A pop-up timer found in a turkey normally has four parts:
#1 The red stick that pops up
#2 The white or light blue outer case
#3 A spring
#4 Piece of soft metal similar to solder
The soft metal is solid at room temperature but turns to a liquid when it melts at about 165 degrees. When the metal melts, it releases the red stick and the spring pops up the red stick so you know the turkey is done. Turkey is done when it reaches 165 degrees.
One little-known fact is that these timers are reusable. If you dip the tip in hot water it will re-melt the metal and you can push the pop-up piece back into place. Then let it cool, and the pop-up piece will be back in its original position — ready to use again.
TRANSITION
This morning we are not going to just talk about how to tell a turkey is done, but as I thought about that word… “done”… I realized that it could be used by people to express their emotional state or even a particular relationship. When we say “I am done” or “we are done” or “I am done with this day,” we are expressing frustration, stress, and at times emotional emptiness.
Feeling "done" can be overwhelming and draining. It often means you're at a point where you’ve given all you can to a situation, person, or even a part of yourself, and there's just no more energy or patience left to give. It can happen after long periods of stress, disappointment, or emotional exhaustion. “Being done” is absolutely an enemy of thankfulness. We are focusing on thankfulness for a few weeks before thanksgiving because thankfulness is an integral part of a heart dedicated to God. Why? Why focus on thanks? Why focus on being thankful?
CONTENT… Giving Thanks Statistics [google search]
* A 2014 study published in Psychotherapy Research found that participants who kept a gratitude journal reported significantly fewer symptoms of depression compared to those who focused on daily hassles.
* The phrase “give thanks” is mentioned 73x in the Old Testament and New Testament.
* A study published in Applied Psychology: Health and Well-Being (2011) found that writing down things you’re grateful for before bed can significantly improve sleep quality. Grateful individuals tend to experience fewer sleep disturbances, likely due to the calming effects of thankfulness.
* Jesus often prayed and gave thanks (Matthew 11:25, 15:36, 26:27; Luke 10:21, 22:17; John 11:41). If Jesus did it, we should as well.
* A study in Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin (2012) showed that people who practiced gratitude were more likely to accomplish their goals, as they felt more motivated and focused.
* The Apostle Paul was constantly giving thanks in the various letters he wrote to the churches (Romans 1; 1 Corinthians 1, 11; 2 Corinthians 1; Ephesians 1; Philippians 1; Colossians 1; 1 Thessalonians 1, 2; Thessalonians 1, 2; 2 Timothy 1; Philemon).
TRANSITION
Having a heart of thankfulness allows us to abide well in Christ and follow after the pattern of proven believers in Jesus. Christians ought to be thankful. If any group of people on the planet have a reason to be thankful, it is a believer in Jesus! Yet, life is often not fair. Life beats us up. Other people are stressful and can drain us mentally. Demands on our time drain us physically, emotionally, and spiritually. We may end up in an emotional or mental place after a hard season of life and “just be done.” As I said before, “being done” is absolutely an enemy of thankfulness.
We are going to focus this morning in the book of 1 Chronicles in chapter 16. This passage describes an event in the life of King David where he leans into thankfulness to combat much of the “emotional doneness” he had been feeling. His life had been at 165-degrees for quite some time and he dedicated himself to thankfulness.
DAVID IS “DONE”
David’s life, before chapter 16 in 1 Chronicles, is one that was high intensity and high stress. He endured much and I believe was “done” with many areas in his life and many of the people in his life:
He felt overwhelmed and exhausted because a civil war had taken place for 7 years.
He perhaps was resigned that he would only be the king of Judah and not all Israel.
He felt fatigue because even after becoming king, he still had battles to fight over and over.
He perhaps felt a loss of motivation in becoming king because there was no peace.
He perhaps felt emotional numbness because one of his wives left him.
He felt stress because a man touched the Ark of the Covenant accidentally and died on the spot.
He had shortened tolerance for people like his nephew Joab who kept murdering people.
He had shortened patience for people like the Jebusites who taunted him about Jerusalem.
I can imagine after a season like this that King David was ready for some peace and quiet. He wanted much of his life to go away. He was “done.” Yet, in the middle of his 165-degree life, King David made the decision to be thankful as he led all of Israel to be thankful.
TRANSITION
Let’s read from 1 Chronicles 16 and learn how David turned his 165-degree roasted life into thankfulness. We will not read the whole chapter straight through, but we will take it a few sections at a time since we will be reading 36 verses.
DAVID DEDICATES HIMSELF TO BEING THANKFUL
#1 OFFERED INTENTIONAL SACRIFICES
READ 1 CHRONICLES 16:1-7
“And they brought in the ark of God and set it inside the tent that David had pitched for it, and they offered burnt offerings and peace offerings before God. 2 And when David had finished offering the burnt offerings and the peace offerings, he blessed the people in the Name of the Lord 3 and distributed to all Israel, both men and women, to each a loaf of bread, a portion of meat, and a cake of raisins. 4 Then he appointed some of the Levites as ministers before the ark of the Lord, to invoke, to thank, and to praise the Lord, the God of Israel. 5 Asaph was the chief, and second to him were Zechariah, Jeiel, Shemiramoth, Jehiel, Mattithiah, Eliab, Benaiah, Obed-edom, and Jeiel, who were to play harps and lyres; Asaph was to sound the cymbals, 6 and Benaiah and Jahaziel the priests were to blow trumpets regularly before the ark of the covenant of God. 7 Then on that day David first appointed that thanksgiving be sung to the Lord by Asaph and his brothers.”
1 Chronicles 16 concludes the events that brings the ark of the covenant into Jerusalem which David had just conquered and made his capital city. The ark of the covenant (or the ark of God) was a carved gold box that was the symbol of God’s presence among Israel… so it was a big deal that the ark of the covenant was being brought into Jerusalem as David’s new capital over all Israel. This is a big deal!
The first seven verses of the chapter record for us how after the ark of the covenant is placed in the tent David set up for it, he offers sacrifices to God. David intentionally sacrificed to God as an act of gratitude and recognition of God's greatness. He knows that a united Israel, a secure Jerusalem, and some relative peace would not be possible without God. God had blessed him even though he felt drained by his life. God continued to see him through his 165-degree life.
In verses 2, 4, and 7, we see that David intentionally blesses the people in the Name of the Lord and wants them to join him in being purposefully thankful to God. He demonstrates his desire for the whole community to join in acknowledging God's goodness. The repetition of the word “appointed” tell us that everything that David was doing was not an accident or happenstance, but he intentionally dedicated himself to thankfulness after a very hard season of life.
APPLICATION
You and I can and should do the same. Life has difficult times. Health, finances, other people, elections, family issues, and job problems can all increase the temperature of life and baste us in stress, fatigue, and emotional turmoil. Make the decision, as David did, to intentionally be thankful in word and deed. Decide to be thankful. Decide to make some kind of sacrifice to God as an expression of thanks to Him for His blessings.
Give a monetary gift to the Church.
If you can sing, sing special music in a worship service.
Dedicate some time to serve God and others.
Give something away in honor of God’s blessings.
Decide to obey and apply Colossians 3:15…
READ COLOSSIANS 3:15 (ESV)
“And let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts, to which indeed you were called in one body. And be thankful.”
TRANSITION
Not only does David intentionally offer sacrifices of thanks, but he also praises God in song. Let’s continue to read in 1 Chronicles 16.
#2 PRAISE GOD THROUGH SONG
READ 1 CHRONICLES 16:8-36
“O give thanks to the Lord; call upon His Name; make known His deeds among the peoples! 9 Sing to Him, sing praises to Him; tell of all His wondrous works! 10 Glory in His holy Name; let the hearts of those who seek the Lord rejoice! 11 Seek the Lord and His strength; seek His presence continually! 12 Remember the wondrous works that He has done, His miracles and the judgments He uttered, 13 O offspring of Israel His servant, children of Jacob, His chosen ones! 14 He is the Lord our God; His judgments are in all the earth. 15 Remember His covenant forever, the word that He commanded, for a thousand generations, 16 the covenant that He made with Abraham, His sworn promise to Isaac, 17 which He confirmed to Jacob as a statute, to Israel as an everlasting covenant, 18 saying, “To you I will give the land of Canaan, as your portion for an inheritance.” 19 When you were few in number, of little account, and sojourners in it, 20 wandering from nation to nation, from one kingdom to another people, 21 He allowed no one to oppress them; He rebuked kings on their account, 22 saying, “Touch not My anointed ones, do My prophets no harm!” 23 Sing to the Lord, all the earth! Tell of His salvation from day to day. 24 Declare His glory among the nations, His marvelous works among all the peoples! 25 For great is the Lord, and greatly to be praised, and He is to be feared above all gods. 26 For all the gods of the peoples are worthless idols, but the Lord made the heavens. 27 Splendor and majesty are before Him; strength and joy are in His place. 28 Ascribe to the Lord, O families of the peoples, ascribe to the Lord glory and strength! 29 Ascribe to the Lord the glory due His Name; bring an offering and come before Him! Worship the Lord in the splendor of holiness; 30 tremble before Him, all the earth; yes, the world is established; it shall never be moved. 31 Let the heavens be glad, and let the earth rejoice, and let them say among the nations, “The Lord reigns!” 32 Let the sea roar, and all that fills it; let the field exult, and everything in it! 33 Then shall the trees of the forest sing for joy before the Lord, for He comes to judge the earth. 34 O give thanks to the Lord, for He is good; for His steadfast love endures forever! 35 Say also: “Save us, O God of our salvation, and gather and deliver us from among the nations, that we may give thanks to Your holy Name and glory in Your praise. 36 Blessed be the Lord, the God of Israel, from everlasting to everlasting!” Then all the people said, “Amen!” and praised the Lord.”
King David gives a public song of thanksgiving which is a significant expression of gratitude. He wants everyone to know he is thankful. He wants others to join him in his thankfulness. The psalm itself is full of declarations of God's greatness, God’s covenant with Israel, and God’s unending faithfulness.
In this psalm, David calls the people to:
Verse 8: “give thanks to the Lord; call upon His Name”
Verse 8: “make known His deeds among the peoples!”
Verse 9: “Sing to Him, sing praises to Him; tell of all His wondrous works!”
Verse 10: “Remember the wondrous works that He has done”
Verse 15: “Remember His covenant”
Verse 22: Remember the protection of God
Verse 30: “tremble before Him”
Verse 31: “say among the nations, “The Lord reigns!”
Verse 34: “Give thanks to the Lord, for He is good; for His steadfast love endures forever”
Verse 35: Pray and ask for salvation and deliverance.
Overall in this song, David is getting his mind right. If the first part of the passage focused on some of David’s actions, then this part of the passage focuses on David’s attitudes and his mental state following those actions. David focuses his song on sharing about the good things God has done. David focuses his song on remembering the goodness of God. Remembering and saying. Remembering and saying. Remembering and saying. David commits himself to a habit of remembering the goodness of God and saying to others how God has been good to Him.
We should not forget that this emphasis on remembering and saying comes even as David is just “done” with jus about everything and everyone in his life. It is a tall order to be thankful when you don’t fell like it. It is a tall order to faithfully look for the goodness of God in a season where it fells like nothing is good.
And yet, this is David’s example to us.
APPLICATION
You and I can and should do the same by committing ourselves to a habit of remembering the goodness of God and saying to others how God has been good to us. I want you to stand this morning in remembrance of how God has been good. I will mention some areas and if you remember and know that God has been good in an area in your life… then please stand and then sit. This is literally and figuratively an exercise in remembering the goodness of God!
Please stand and then sit of you…
Remember how God has been good to your family! [stand and then sit]
Remember how God has blessed you at your job or in your retirement! [stand and then sit]
Remember how God has provided in your finances! [stand and then sit]
Remember how God has protected you in your health! [stand and then sit]
Remember how God has blessed your Church! [stand and then sit]
Remember how God has healed in a hard relationship! [stand and then sit]
If you were unable to stand this morning, I am so sorry that life has been harder than it needs to be. I pray that God will open your eyes of faith to see where He has been working all along during a 165-degree season of life. I know you feel “done,” but even in the midst of “doneness,” God “is good; for His steadfast love endures forever.”
Decide to obey and apply Colossians 3:15…
READ COLOSSIANS 3:15 (ESV)
“And let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts, to which indeed you were called in one body. And be thankful.”
TRANSITION
Not only does David intentionally offer sacrifices of thanks and praises God in song, but he also highlights that God is sovereign and he prays for God’s favor in that psalm.
#3 ACKNOWLEDGE THAT GOD IS SOVEREIGN
RE-READ 1 CHRONICLES 16:25-27 (ESV)
“For great is the Lord, and greatly to be praised, and He is to be feared above all gods. 26 For all the gods of the peoples are worthless idols, but the Lord made the heavens. 27 Splendor and majesty are before Him; strength and joy are in His place.”
David emphasizes God’s incomparable greatness, saying that God is "great and greatly to be praised" in verse 25, that He is the maker of everything in verse 26, and that “splendor and majesty are before Him” in verse 27. This is David’s way of acknowledging God's dominion and the worthiness of His praise. David knows and believes that God is in charge. David knows and believes that God’s will about His life and for His nation is best. David has his ideas about his life and his nation, but God’s will and way is better, best, and should be followed even if the road is full of suffering. A 165-degree life is easier to endure when you know that God is in charge of the oven, the spices, and the intensity with which life is baking you. David calls himself and his people to faith in God even after a terrible time.
APPLICATION
I am calling you to faith in God even after you may have had a terrible time.
Believe that God is great and greatly to be praised even if you are discouraged!
Trust in God Who is to be feared even if you wonder if He knows what you are enduring!
Be loyal to God because He made the heavens and the earth and knows what is best!
Believe that God is not evil, but His way can be good and also difficult at the same time!
Trust that God gives strength to persevere when we seek Him with all our heart!
Be loyal to God Who gives joy amid stress, sadness, and trials of all kinds!
When you are “done,” follow the call of David to lean into faith and redouble your trust in God!
Decide to obey and apply Colossians 3:15…
READ COLOSSIANS 3:15 (ESV)
“And let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts, to which indeed you were called in one body. And be thankful.”
#4 PRAY FOR GOD’S FAVOR
King David prays for God’s favor at the end of the psalm.
RE-READ 1 CHRONICLES 16:35-36 (ESV)
“Say also: “Save us, O God of our salvation, and gather and deliver us from among the nations, that we may give thanks to Your holy Name and glory in Your praise. 36 Blessed be the Lord, the God of Israel, from everlasting to everlasting!” Then all the people said, “Amen!” and praised the Lord.”
At the end of this song of praise, remembering, thinking, focus, and faith, David prays for God's ongoing powerful blessed intervention in his life and the lives of the people of Israel. David rightly thanks YHWH God for His past faithfulness and asking for His continued blessing. He knows that in the past God Almighty saved, gathered, delivered, and blessed. He prays that in the future God Almighty would continue to save, gather, deliver, and bless.
APPLICATION
I am asking you to pray for God’s favor in your life even if the season you are coming out of has burned you or perhaps you foresee an extended time on the griddle of life coming up. Praise God for His saving, gathering, delivering, and blessings in your life and prays that in the future God Almighty would continue to save, gather, deliver, and bless.
God thank you for saving our souls and continue to pursue those souls that do not know You!
God thank you for gathering our family in your protection and continue to shelter us in Your power!
God thank you for delivering us from danger and addiction and continue to deliver us always!
God thank you for blessing us in ways we did not see and help us see obvious blessings from You!
Decide to obey and apply Colossians 3:15…
READ COLOSSIANS 3:15 (ESV)
“And let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts, to which indeed you were called in one body. And be thankful.”
SUMMARY AND CONCLUSION
In the midst of “being done” after a 165-degree time of his life, King David leans into thankfulness by offering intentional sacrifices, praising God through song, and reorienting his heart about God’s sovereignty while praying for God’s favor. We absolutely can do the same! We should do the same!
Verse 36 ends with: “Then all the people said, “Amen!” and praised the Lord.” All God’s people said: [Amen!] Let’s praise the Lord!
PRAYER
PRAISE SONG [suggested selections]
“Praise to the Lord the Almighty” (Winkworth, Nockels)
“God, You’re So Good” (Younker, Stanfill)
“Goodness of God” (Johnson)
“How Great is Our God” (Tomlin)
“Great is Thy Faithfulness” (Chisolm)
“Great Are You Lord” (Leonard, Ingram, Jordan)
PRAYER OF BLESSING FOR DISMISSAL
