However, right before Thanksgiving one by one they began to call from another town that they were sorry they would not be able to come.
But the elderly man told his sad wife, Honey, do not worry they will all be here I promise!!!
He had this idea to get them there.
• A couple of days before Thanksgiving the husband called his son in New York and said to him, "I hate to ruin your day, but I have to tell you some bad news. Your mother and I are divorcing; 45 years of misery is enough. We’re sick of each other, and so you call your sister in Chicago and tell her."
• Frantic, the son called his sister, who exploded on the phone. "They are not getting divorced," she shouted. "I’ll take care of this!!!”
• She called Phoenix immediately, and said to her father. "You are NOT getting divorced. Don’t you do a single thing until I get there? I’m calling my brother back, and we’ll both be there tomorrow. Until then, don’t do a thing, DO YOU HEAR ME?"
• The man hung up his phone and turned to his wife and said. "Okay, honey. The kids are coming for Thanksgiving and paying for their own flights."
Thanksgiving is a great family time. It’s when most families get together to eat, share, laugh, have a good time, and express their love for one another.
Illus: A few weeks before Thanksgiving Franklin Graham appeared on television concerning Thanksgiving.
• He asked a question, “What are you thankful for this Thanksgiving?”
• He gave a few suggestions for things we should be thankful.
• And then he said, HAVE YOU THOUGHT ABOUT BEING THANKFUL FOR GOD THE FATHER?
That got me thinking about being thankful for GOD THE FATHER on Thanksgiving for this sermon.
The book of Colossians is a very important book in the Word of God because it covers so many important things in our daily lives.
Such as, this portion of scripture that I read to you deals with “Gratitude”, something we all need to learn more about.
Illus: Have you ever heard the story of the mother who wanted to teach her daughter a moral lesson?
She gave the little girl a quarter and a dollar for church. She told her “Put whichever one you want in the collection plate and keep the other for yourself.”
• When they were coming out of church, the mother asked her daughter which offering she had given.
• “Well,” said the little girl, “I was going to give the dollar, but just before the collection the man in the pulpit said that we should all be cheerful givers. I knew I’d be a lot more cheerful if I gave the quarter, so I did.”
Illus: Listen some us can remember when we got our report cards on one side of the report card was where the child was graded for their academics and on the back side they were graded for their character such as: Gratitude, Kindness, Respect, honesty, cooperation, tardiness and etc.
And teachers and parents considered both side of the report card to be equally important.
Listen, I am sorry to say that many parents and teachers today are doing a horrible job of teaching children gratitude.
WHAT IS THE PROBLEM?
In this age of FREEBIES people today do not recognize the need for gratitude.
When they are given something they feel they are entitled to it SO WHY SHOULD THEY SHOW ANY GRATITUDE!!!
Illus: A priest went into a Washington, D.C., barbershop, got his hair cut and asked how much he owed. “No charge, Father,” the barber said. “I consider it a service to the Lord.”
• When the barber arrived at his shop the next morning, he found a dozen small prayer booklets on the steps along with a thank you note from the priest.
• A few days later a police officer came in. “How much do I owe you?” the police man asked after his haircut “No charge, officer,” the barber answered. “I consider it a service to my community.”
• The next morning the barber found a dozen doughnuts on the steps along with a thank you note from the police officer.
• A few days after that, a Senator walked in for a haircut. “How much do I owe you?” he asked afterward. “No charge,” the barber replied. “I consider it a service to my country.”
• The next morning when he arrived at the shop, the barber found a dozen Senators waiting on his door steps.
This is the age when people line up in a line for freebies. And many times no gratitude is showed.
Their mindset is anything you can do for them, this is the least you can do for them so their attitude is why should I be grateful!
Illus: A husband gave his wife a beautiful skunk coat on Christmas day.
• She opened it and rubbing the soft fur she said, I can't see how such a nice coat can come from such a stinking little rascal."
• The husband said, "Wait a minute! Look, I don't ask for thanks, but I do demand respect."
In today’s church we hear a great deal of complaining, but God’s church should be permeated with PRAISE and THANKSGIVING. There is a great deal to be THANKFUL!!!
WHAT IS GRATITUDE?
The dictionary says that gratitude is to have a feeling of thankful appreciation for favors received.
In this passage of scripture from Colossians, Paul shows us how we need to live a life of gratitude.
For example, if the apostle Paul asked what was he grateful for He would say MANY THINGS, but let me narrow it down to three things he mentioned?
I. First, HE HAD GRATITUDE FOR GOD THE FATHER.
Let’s take a few minutes and talk about GOD THE FATHER.
It is a wonderful thing to have a GOOD EARTHLY FATHER, but it is EQUALLY IF NOT GREATER to have a GOOD HEAVENLY FATHER
We know that God is the father of Jesus.
Look at Colossians 1:3-5, We read, “We give thanks to God and the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, praying always for you, Since we heard of your faith in Christ Jesus, and of the love which ye have to all the saints, For the hope which is laid up for you in heaven, whereof ye heard before in the word of the truth of the gospel; “
It is clear that God is the father of Jesus.
Look at these words in verse 3; we give thanks to God and the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ...”
• Is it important that we recognized that God is the father of the Lord Jesus?
• It is also important that we recognized that God is the Father of all the Believers.
During the time of Jesus’ life, the Jews saw God as the ultimate form of holiness, which is correct. God is holy.
Illus: They had such reverence for Him that they didn’t even dare to say Yahweh (YHWH), the Name of God, out loud.
You can imagine their shock:
1) When Jesus called God His Father
2) And instructed them to do as well in the Lord’s Prayer (Matthew 6:9) “Pray then like this: ‘Our Father in heaven, hallowed be Your Name.’”
The interesting thing is that the word used there, is the word patér, which we always translate as “father” but actually has a really personal connotation, more along the lines of “daddy.”
God doesn’t want to be someone standing far away in the distance. He wants to have a personal relationship with you. He wants to be your “Daddy.”
However, it needs to be made clear though, He is not the father of everyone!
He told a crowd of unbelievers in John 8:44 ye are of your father the devil, and the lusts of your father ye will do. He was a murderer from the beginning, and abode not in the truth, because there is no truth in him. When he speaketh a lie, he speaketh of his own: for he is a liar, and the father of it.
Listen, there are many reasons not to serve the devil but to know that the devil is your father is a good reason to accept the Lord today!
There are many scriptures that convey that.
However, He taught us believers to pray with these words, OUR FATHER, WHICH ART IN HEAVEN!
Romans 8:15 for ye have not received the spirit of bondage again to fear; but ye have received the Spirit of adoption, whereby we cry, Abba, Father.
We can think of God the Father is like our earthly father in that He is the provider for the family of God.
The book of Colossians makes it clear that God the Father provides for His family.
WHAT DOES HE PROVIDE?
Let me show you THREE things…
Look at Colossians 1:3-5 “We give thanks to God and the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, praying always for you, Since we heard of your (1) faith in Christ Jesus, and of the (2) love which ye have to all the saints, For the (3) hope which is laid up for you in heaven, whereof ye heard before in the word of the truth of the gospel.”
Notice these verses tell us that God told these Colossians God the Father provides THREE THINGS…
1) FAITH,
2) LOVE
3) And HOPE.
Notice, first God the Father provides his children with… FAITH.
Look at verse 3, We read, “We give thanks to God and the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, praying always for you, Since we HEARD OF YOUR FAITH IN CHRIST JESUS…”
Before we got saved we had placed our FAITH not in the Lord Jesus but in the things of this world.
We had it all figured out. If I can get:
• Nice home
• Nice car
• Nice marriage
• Nice friends
• Nice clothes
I will have it made!!!
Illus: Listen we all know people who have a….
• Nice home
• Nice car
• Nice marriage
• Nice friends
• Nice clothes
And they certainly are not happy. To survive this life they have to…Live off of drugs. I am talking about Christians and sinners!!!
WHAT IS THE PROBLEM?
They have put their FAITH in life in the wrong places.
These things are not sinful but we made them sinful by placing our faith in these things that only temporary satisfies.
Don’t you think when God Created us for Himself He was smart enough to create us to only find real joy and happiness in Him.
We have a choice as to whether we want to receive faith in Him or not, this falls under the category of free-will.
Illus: The hyper-Calvinist teaches God created some for heaven and some for hell. This is not true!
We all have a free-will and we decide where we are going to spend eternity in heaven or hell.
Free-will simply means no body can make you place your FAITH in the Lord Jesus. NOBODY! I wish I could and if I could I would make the whole world accept the Lord and put their faith in Him.
Ephesians, 2:8, informs us that FAITH ALONG WITH GRACE are gifts from God. We read, “For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the GIFT OF GOD.”
HOW DO WE RECEIVE FAITH?
The Bible tells us FAITH COMETH BY HEARING.
• Every day you need to read the scriptures
• You need to attend a good Sunday school class that teaches the Word of God
• You need to set under a preacher that preaches the Word of God.
Illus: The more you expose yourself to the Word of God it is like going to a table of delicious food and the more you eat the bigger you become.
The reason we have so many skinny frail Christians today is because they do not make time to set down at God’s dinner table and chow down on the Word of God.
It is amazing how little people know about the Word of God, especially here in America where virtually everyone has access to the Bible.
Illus: Back when Jay Leno hosted the Tonight Show, he frequently did "man-on-the street" interviews.
One night he collared some young people to ask them questions about the Bible.
• "Can you name one of the Ten Commandments?" he asked two college-age women.
• One replied, "Freedom of speech?"
• Mr. Leno said to the other, "Complete this sentence: Let he who is without sin..." Her response was, "have a good time?"
• Mr. Leno then turned to a young man and asked, "Who, according to the Bible, was eaten by a whale?" The student answer was, "Pinocchio."
While such misunderstandings may seem to be humorous, they are in fact tragic.
The Bible is far more than just a book. It is the Word of God and provides us with spiritual nutritious food with all things that pertain to life and godliness.
The importance of God’s Word is reiterated throughout its pages and no more powerfully than in…
• Romans 10:17 where it states, "faith cometh by hearing, and hearing by the word of God".
• Romans 10:14 declares, "… how shall they believe in him of whom they have not heard?"
• Romans 10:17 declares that faith is the result of hearing God speak through the Word of God.
It would be completely inappropriate for Paul to thank these Colossians for their faith, because their faith was a GIFT FROM GOD! So he thanks God the Father for their faith.
Illus: Every time we expose ourselves to the Word of God the more GRATEFUL WE BECOME OF OUR HEAVENLY FATHER.
God the Father not only provides FAITH, God the Father also provides…
II. LOVE.
Look at verses 3-4, we read, “We give thanks to God and the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, praying always for you, since we heard of your faith…AND OF THE LOVE WHICH YE HAVE TO ALL THE SAINTS.”
Illus: This is what makes God’s church a wonderful place when you have a congregation that God has placed in their heart love one for another.
Illus: Remember that song about the OLD TIME RELIGIION IT MAKES ME LOVE EVERYBODY!
Illus: They tell us that a DOG can tell whether you love them. Did you know this is true also for us humans?
Illus: We all know people who have HATE AND DISGUST for other races.
But listen, when a person becomes born again God wants to give them a LOVE FOR EVERYONE!
I thank God for the gift of love He has given to me to love everyone I meet!!!
We, within ourselves, do not know how to love. We all, with our Adamic nature, we were born with the ability to hate.
Illus: I can take you to any nursery in town and prove that we are born with this Adamic nature of hate.
You will see children that can barely crawl:
• Biting each other
• Hitting each other
• Spitting on each other
• Clobbering some child on the head with a toy.
We are all born with this Adamic nature to sin to hate.
Illus: Years ago we had a church nursery and one mother brought this little cannibal into our nursery. She constantly wanted to chew on other nursery kids ears. I am so glad that God the Father provides us with love.
Illus: I have seen men that were mean to their wife. They would not dare beat on some man because they know he will hit back at them! But they actually beat and slap their wives. WHAT IS WRONG WITH A MAN LIKE THAT?
I will tell you exactly what is wrong with him---HE NEEDS TO GET SAVE, BORN AGAIN AND God the Father will provide LOVE IN HIS HEART IN SUCH A FASHION AFTER GOD IS THROUGH WITH HIM YOU WILL NOT RECOGNIZE HE IS THE SAME MAN.
How do we get that love?
In I John 4:19, we read, "We love him, because He first loved us".
Our love for each other is in RELATION to, and a REACTION to, the love God has shown us through Jesus Christ.
You see, when we accepted the Lord Jesus as our Savior, now He lives within us. And since He loves everyone so will we.”
Here is the problem?
Everyone who profess to have Christ living within them do not love everyone.
All across this nation we have:
• White Churches
• Black Churches
• Hispanic Churches
• Chinese Churches
Why? Because God’s church in America have a LOVE PROBLEM!!!
I do not know what they are going to do when they get to heaven?
It may not be a problem because some of these who have a love problem WITH LOVE may not be there.
Someone said, THE MOST SEGRATED HOUR IN AMERICA IS ON SUNDAY MORNING.
We may give the impression that we are experts on love, but we do not know a thing about LOVE OF GOD.
They think they do, BUT THEY DON’T!
Illus: Many, when it comes to love, remind me of some of these teenagers. When they are young, you cannot even get them to sit together, then they reach a certain age, and they want to sit in each other’s laps.
Then, one day they finally kiss the opposite sex, and all of a sudden they are experts on love. Overnight, they know more about love than both of their parents put together.
The fact of the matter is, WE DO NOT KNOW HOW TO LOVE! Paul was THANKFUL UNTO GOD, for the LOVE God had placed in their hearts of these Colossian Christians.
God the Father provides
I. Faith
II. Love
And also, God the Father provides…
III.HOPE
Look at 3-5, we read, “We give thanks to God and the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, praying always for you, For the HOPE, WHICH IS LAID UP FOR YOU IN HEAVEN, whereof ye heard before in the word of the truth of the gospel.”
Thank God because He has given us hope.
People have to have something to look forward to.
• The young girl keeps herself pure, because she looks forward to standing beside a young man that wants to spend the rest of his life with a virgin, not used merchandise!
• The young athlete trains hard, because he looks forward to the game, he is going to participate in.
• People look forward to vacation in the near future.
But no other people on this earth have the HOPE that we Christians have, WHICH IS LAID UP FOR US IN HEAVEN.
MANY CHURCHES ARE NOT PREACHING AND SINGING ABOUT THE HOPE WHICH IS LAID UP FOR THEM IN HEAVEN.
WHERE DOES THIS HOPE COME FROM?
Look at Colossians 1:27, we read, “To whom God would make known what is the riches of the glory of this mystery among the Gentiles; which is Christ in you, THE HOPE OF GLORY.”
The hope that God places in our hearts, is based entirely upon our relationship with the Lord Jesus Christ.
Since our faith, love and hope all come from Christ, we now understand why Paul did not thank the Colossians for these things, BUT HE THANKED GOD WHO GAVE THESE THINGS TO THE COLOSSIANS.
Without God, they would not have any of these things, so Paul said, “We give thanks to God…”
When the New Testament talks about hope, it is not talking about "PIE IN THE SKY."
Today’s churches do not preach and sing about heaven like the churches did in the past. This is one of the reasons you find much of the sadness there is in the church today.
Jeanne Johnson - Mansion Over the Hilltop [Live]
YouTube
GaitherVEVO
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Aug 31, 2012
I AM THANKFUL WE CHRISTIANS HAVE A GOOD HEAVENLY FATHER.
Conclusion:
Matthew Henry, the famous Bible expositor, was once robbed by thieves and robbed of his pocketbook. He wrote these lines in his diary:
Let me be thankful,
• First, because I was never robbed before.
• Second, because, although they took my purse, they did not take my life.
• Third, because, although they took my all, it was not much.
• And fourth, because it was I who was robbed, not I who robbed.
We have so much to be thankful for each day; God the father is so good HEAVENLY FATHER.
It is a shame that Thanksgiving Day has become “Turkey Day” or Football Day when we have so much to be thankful.
Illus: The young man was feeling very proud of himself. As a brand-new college graduate, he had taken the C.P.A. Exams and passed with flying colors. Now he was a full-fledged Certified Public Accountant. His father had been an immigrant to the U.S. and now owned his own little business. Filled with self-importance, the young man began to criticize his father’s way of keeping books. He said, “Dad, you don’t even know how much profit you’ve made. Over here in this drawer are your accounts receivables. Over there are your receipts and you keeping all your money in the cash register. You don’t have any idea how much you’ve made.”
The father answered, “Son, when I came to this country the only thing I owned was a pair of pants. Now, your brother is a doctor, your sister is an art teacher, and you are a C.P.A. Your mother and I own our home. We have a car, and we own this little business. Now add that up, subtract the pants, and all the rest is profit.” ADD IT UP, brothers and sisters.
That’s exactly what we need to do at Thanksgiving. Add it all up. We came into this world with nothing but the eternal soul that God gave us.
Everything else is profit. We all have profited quite well.
BE JOYFUL. There’s always something to thank God for. But for the child of God this is the time to thank God the Father for what He has provided for His children.
I. FAITH
II. LOVE
III. HOPE
Many today do not have these gifts from God to be thankful. It saddens our heart that many do not have these gifts from GOD THE FATHER but we who are saved THANKFUL WE HAVE THESE GIFTS!!!
