THANK YOU, LORD
Psa. 26:6-7
INTRO. As we approach the Thanksgiving season, our minds turn toward all the things for which we should be thankful. I don’t know why we are not more thankful all year around, but this particular time of the year make us more conscious of our blessings.
I know that the country is not in the best of shape and some of us could say we’ve seen better times, still things could be a lot worse, couldn’t they? So that might be the first thing to be thankful for!
{Illus.} -- A king was terribly depressed. His soothsayer said that if the king were to put on the shoes of a contented man he would be cured of his depression and he would also become content. The kings servants searched the entire kingdom looking for a contented man...and when they finally found one...he did not own a pair of shoes.
I am afraid that we sometimes get so caught up in our difficulties, aches and pains that we forget how many things for which we should be giving thanks. An old hog will stand under an apple tree eating apples all day long and never once look up to see where they come from.
I. (Vs. 1b) -- I AM THANKFUL THAT I AM NOT IN HELL THIS MORNING.
A. What do you consider the most frightening scripture about hell?
1. We think about the flames, the falling, the worms, the darkness and the hopelessness of hell; but I think the very worst thing ever said about hell in Isa. 5:14.
2. There are over 6 billion souls in the world today and most of them are not saved. I am one of the very few who knows for sure that I am going to heaven.
B. Jn. 1:11-12
(Jn. 14:1-3) -- "Let not your heart be troubled; ye believe in God, believe also in me. In my Father’s house are many mansions; if it were not so, I would have told you. I go to prepare a place for you. And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again, and receive you unto myself; that where I am, there ye may be also."
C. Notice the last part of vs. 1 of our text.
1. I am thankful that God holds my soul in His own hand and I don’t have to fear sliding out of God’s hand and into hell.
2. Jn. 10:27-30\
II. I AM THANKFUL THAT I AM IN THIS CHURCH THIS MORNING. (vs. 8)
A. There are about 125 million people in Japan and only 10 Missionary Baptist Churches. There are over one billion people in China and no Missionary Baptist Churches at all!
1. Think of the blessing you had this morning -- the freedom and privilege to choose whether you would go to church or not.
2. And then the freedom to choose this very church so that you might sit under the preaching of the Gospel of Jesus Christ.
B. There are 2 basic reasons why people go to hell. [They go to hell because they do not have Jesus as their Saviour, but there are 2 basic reasons why they do not accept Christ.]
1. The first is rebellion against God’s Word. David gave thanks to God for His truth (vs. 3).
a. The Roman Road.
1. (Rom. 3:23) - "For all have sinned and come short of the glory of God."
2. (Rom. 6:23) - "For the wages of sin is death; but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord."
3. (Rom. 5:8) - "But God commendeth His love toward us, in that, while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us."
4. (Rom. 10:9) - "If thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and shalt believe in thine heart that God hath raised him from the dead, thou shalt be saved."
5. (Rom. 10:13) - "For whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved."
b. The truths of the Gospel and the Bible are preached every Sunday in this country. They can be heard over the radio and seen on T.V. Yet vast numbers of people from right here in our area are going to die without Christ and salvation.
c. Why? Rebellion against God’s Word! They know but they don’t care -- they know but they don’t believe -- they know but they are determined to do it their own way. Rebellion against God and God’s way will result in only one thing.....eternal damnation.
2. The second reason why people go to hell is ignorance.
a. Millions in Japan do not know what Christianity is all about. They are caught up in the false teachings of Buddha or Shintoism. But their ignorance will not help them at the time of their soul’s judgment.
b. Paul in Athens. (Acts 17:30)
c. The Great Commission
d. Millions in China, India, Pakistan, Afghanistan and other parts of the world may never have heard of Jesus of Nazareth or Calvary. Telling them is what God put the church here to do.
III. (vs. 6-7) THERE ARE MANY BLESSINGS I AM THANKFUL FOR.
A. That I am an American and all that goes with being an American citizen.
B. My wife and son and all my family and friends.
C. The many things I have experienced, the places I have been and the things I have seen.
D. My salvation and call to the ministry. The truth of God in the form of the Bible.
E. But let me list 4 blessings I am very thankful for and I haven’t even received them yet! vs. 12.
1. I am thankful for the promise of the Rapture. I do not know when it will come but I do know that I am blessed to live in the most likely age of all to experience it. [briefly explain the rapture.]
2. I am thankful for the promise of the Resurrection. I may miss the rapture but if I do then I know I will not miss the resurrection. I’ll be in one of them!
a. I Thess. 4:15-18. The world may crumble, nations may come and go but I can say with David, "My foot standeth in an even place;"
b. The rapture or the resurrection will get me a new body. I won’t list this blessing separately because one does not come without the other. "And as we have borne the image of the earthy, we shall also bear the image of the heavenly." (I Cor. 15:49)
3. The third promise I am thankful for is the millennial kingdom.
a. King Jesus will rule this earth one day and I shall be there to see it.
b. Satan will be bound for a thousand years and there will be peace and prosperity for all God’s people. But that is not Heaven.
4. And that is the fourth promise I am thankful for.
a. I cannot talk much about the glories of Heaven because I do not know much about it.
b. But because Jesus died for me on the cross of Calvary and because I received him as my Saviour the Holy Spirit of God now lives within me and I have God’s solemn word that I am His child and His promise of a new body and everlasting life in His presence.
c. (Psa. 17:15) -- "As for me, I will behold thy face in righteousness; I shall be satisfied, when I awake with thy likeness."
CONCLU. What do you have to be thankful for this morning? What things are most important to you? Can you thank God for what He has done for you? If not, now is the time to come to Jesus Christ and make this Thanksgiving one that you will remember for all eternity.
