12, October 2003
Dakota Community Church
A Heart of Thanksgiving
Introduction:
The following proclamation was made by Governor Bradford in 1623, 3 years after the Pilgrims settled at Plymouth;
To all ye Pilgrims,
Inasmuch as the great father has given us this year an abundant harvest of Indian corn, wheat, peas, squashes and garden vegetables, and has made the forests to abound with game and the sea with fish and clams, and inasmuch as he has protected us from the raids of the savages, has spared us from pestilence and disease, has granted us freedom to worship God according to the dictates of our own conscience; now I, your magistrate, do proclaim that all ye Pilgrims, with your wives and ye little ones, do gather at ye meeting house, on ye hill, between the hours of 9 and 12 in the day time, on Thursday November ye 29th of the year of our Lord one thousand six hundred and twenty three, and the third year since ye Pilgrims landed on ye Plymouth rock, there to listen to ye pastor and render thanksgiving t ye Almighty God for all His blessings.
So that is how it all began as a specific annual, and my personal favorite holiday.
Sometimes we need a little help to stay grateful to God.
One young lady wrote home from college,
"Dear Mom: Sorry I haven’t written sooner. To answer your question, my arm really has been broken. I broke it, and my left leg, when I jumped from the second floor of my dormitory...when we had the fire. We were lucky though because a young service station attendant saw the blaze and called the Fire Department. They were there in minutes. I was only in the hospital for a few days. Paul, the service station attendant, came to see me every day. And because it was taking so long to get our dormitory livable again, I moved in with him. He has been treating me so nice, especially since we got the news that I am pregnant. Paul and I plan to get married just as soon as his divorce is final. I hope things are fine at home. I’m doing fine, and will write more when I get the chance. Love,
Your daughter, Susie
P.S. None of the above is true. But I did get a "C" in Sociology and flunked Chemistry. I just wanted you to receive this news in its "Proper Perspective!"
- Sometimes our view of things can be altered with a shift in perspective.
- Have you had a wrong perspective that has resulted in complaining instead of thanking?
1Thes.5: 16-24
16Be joyful always; 17pray continually; 18give thanks in all circumstances, for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus.
19Do not put out the Spirit’s fire; 20do not treat prophecies with contempt. 21Test everything. Hold on to the good. 22Avoid every kind of evil.
23May God himself, the God of peace, sanctify you through and through. May your whole spirit, soul and body be kept blameless at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ. 24The one who calls you is faithful and he will do it.
Ephesians 5: 15-20
15Be very careful, then, how you live--not as unwise but as wise, 16making the most of every opportunity, because the days are evil. 17Therefore do not be foolish, but understand what the Lord’s will is. 18Do not get drunk on wine, which leads to debauchery. Instead, be filled with the Spirit. 19Speak to one another with psalms, hymns and spiritual songs. Sing and make music in your heart to the Lord, 20always giving thanks to God the Father for everything, in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ.
- Thank God in all circumstances.
- Thank God for everything.
This should not have to be said however; two verses earlier it says do not be foolish but understand what the Lord’s will is.
Do not thank God for things that are not his will.
- Sickness is not His will. In the circumstance thank Him for healing.
- Sin is not his will. Don’t thank Him for Internet porn sites or good heroin.
What do we thank Him for?
James 1:13-18
13When tempted, no one should say, "God is tempting me." For God cannot be tempted by evil, nor does he tempt anyone; 14but each one is tempted when, by his own evil desire, he is dragged away and enticed. 15Then, after desire has conceived, it gives birth to sin; and sin, when it is full-grown, gives birth to death.
16Don’t be deceived, my dear brothers. 17Every good and perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of the heavenly lights, who does not change like shifting shadows. 18He chose to give us birth through the word of truth, that we might be a kind of firstfruits of all he created.
Every good and perfect gift is from Him. Notice good, notice perfect, notice He does not change like shifting shadows.
Three attitudes that will ruin this holiday:
1. A prideful heart.
If you are a self-made man you will not like the idea of giving thanks. Pride will not allow it.
This is not the good type of pride, which is really more about self-respect.
Psalm 10:4
4 In his pride the wicked does not seek him; in all his thoughts there is no room for God.
Proverbs 11: 2
2 When pride comes, then comes disgrace, but with humility comes wisdom.
Proverbs 16:18
18 Pride goes before destruction, a haughty spirit before a fall.
We sing a song that asks the Lord to humble us but in truth we must humble ourselves.
- False humility says, “I’m nothing but a worm.”
- True humility says, “I can do all thing through Christ.”
Did you hear about the clever salesman who closed hundreds of sales with this line: "Let me show you something several of your neighbors said you couldn’t afford."
2. A negative heart.
If you are a constant complainer who always sees the glass as half empty you will be unlikely to even realize there is anything to be thankful for.
Numbers 11: 1
1 Now the people complained about their hardships in the hearing of the LORD, and when he heard them his anger was aroused. Then fire from the LORD burned among them and consumed some of the outskirts of the camp.
Number 14: 26-30
26 The LORD said to Moses and Aaron: 27 "How long will this wicked community grumble against me? I have heard the complaints of these grumbling Israelites. 28 So tell them, ’As surely as I live, declares the LORD, I will do to you the very things I heard you say: 29 In this desert your bodies will fall-every one of you twenty years old or more who was counted in the census and who has grumbled against me. 30 Not one of you will enter the land I swore with uplifted hand to make your home, except Caleb son of Jephunneh and Joshua son of Nun.
Philippians 2: 12-14
Continue to work out your salvation with fear and trembling, 13for it is God who works in you to will and to act according to his good purpose.
14Do everything without complaining or arguing, 15so that you may become blameless and pure, children of God without fault in a crooked and depraved generation, in which you shine like stars in the universe
A guide at Blarney Castle in Ireland was explaining to some visitors that his job was not always as pleasant as it seemed. He told them about a group of disgruntled tourists he had taken to the castle earlier in the week.
"These people were complaining about everything," he said. "They didn’t like the weather, the food, their hotel accommodations, the prices, everything. Then to top it off, when we arrived at the castle, we found that the area around the Blarney Stone was roped off. Workmen were making some kind of repairs." "This is the last straw!" exclaimed one lady who seemed to be the chief faultfinder in the group. "I’ve come all this way, and now I can’t even kiss the Blarney Stone."
"Well, you know," the guide said, "according to legend, if you kiss someone who has kissed the stone, it’s the same as kissing the stone itself." "And I suppose you’ve kissed the stone," said the exasperated lady. "Better than that." replied the guide. "I’ve sat on it."
3. A spoiled heart.
When we have never known life without something we can fall into taking it for granted and fail to be thankful for it.
- If the stars only came out once a year we would stay up all night to look at them.
Deuteronomy 8:13-15
13 and when your herds and flocks grow large and your silver and gold increase and all you have is multiplied, 14 then your heart will become proud and you will forget the LORD your God, who brought you out of Egypt, out of the land of slavery. 15 He led you through the vast and dreadful desert, that thirsty and waterless land, with its venomous snakes and scorpions. He brought you water out of hard rock.
Rudyard Kipling was a great writer and poet whose writings we have all enjoyed. Unlike many old writers, Kipling was one of the few who had opportunity to enjoy his success while he lived. He also made a great deal of money at his trade.
One time a newspaper reporter came up to him and said, "Mr. Kipling, I just read that somebody calculated that the money you make from your writings amounts to over a hundred dollars a word; Mr. Kipling raised his eyebrows and said, "Really, I certainly wasn’t aware of that."
The reporter cynically reached down into his pocket and pulled out a one hundred dollar bill and gave it to Kipling and said, "Here’s a hundred dollar bill, Mr. Kipling. Now, you give me one of your hundred dollar words." Mr. Kipling looked at that hundred-dollar bill for a moment, took it and folded it up and put it in his pocket and said, "Thanks."
“Thanks” is definitely a $100 word.
Three actions that will have your cup running over:
1. Express your thanks.
Psalm 100: 1-5
1 Shout for joy to the LORD, all the earth.
2 Worship the LORD with gladness; come before him with joyful songs.
3 Know that the LORD is God. It is he, who made us, and we are his; we are his people, the sheep of his pasture.
4 Enter his gates with thanksgiving and his courts with praise; give thanks to him and praise his name.
5 For the LORD is good and his love endures forever; his faithfulness continues through all generations.
Luke 19:37-40
37When he came near the place where the road goes down the Mount of Olives, the whole crowd of disciples began joyfully to praise God in loud voices for all the miracles they had seen:
38"Blessed is the king who comes in the name of the Lord!"
"Peace in heaven and glory in the highest!"
39Some of the Pharisees in the crowd said to Jesus, "Teacher, rebuke your disciples!"
40"I tell you," he replied, "if they keep quiet, the stones will cry out."
2. Expand your thanks.
James 1:16-18
16Don’t be deceived, my dear brothers. 17Every good and perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of the heavenly lights, who does not change like shifting shadows. 18He chose to give us birth through the word of truth that we might be a kind of firstfruits of all he created.
3. Expose your thanks.
Psalm 68: 26
26 Praise God in the great congregation; praise the LORD in the assembly of Israel.
Psalm 22:22
22 I will declare your name to my brothers; in the congregation I will praise you.
I think we delight to praise what we enjoy because the praise not merely expresses but completes the enjoyment. It is not out of compliment that lovers keep on telling one another how beautiful they are; the delight is incomplete till it is expressed. - C.S. Lewis.
