BE THANKFUL
PSALM 100
INTRODUCTION: Psalms 100:4 tells us to "Enter into His gates with thanksgiving, and into His courts with praise; be thankful to Him, and bless His name." One of the temptations of the Christian who has been saved for any length of time is the danger of getting accustomed to God’s blessings, to take them for granted, and fail to be thankful. "Let me ask you today what are you thankful for?" This morning I have so much to be thankful for. I am thankful for my loving wife, my children and grandchildren, the blessing of being an American, our liberty, my health, and a multitude of material blessings. What are you thankful for? I believe there are some things that regardless of who you are this morning you and I ought to be thankful to God for. Today let us…
I. BE THANKFUL TO GOD FOR HIS GOODNESS
A. Psalms 25:8 "Good and upright is the LORD: therefore will he teach sinners in the way."
B. Psalms 135:3 "Praise the LORD; for the LORD is good: sing praises unto his name; for it is pleasant."
C. God is not a being of mere "power;" he is not merely the Creator, the Uncaused Cause; but He is infinitely benevolent, and is, therefore, worthy of universal praise.
D. What should have been a joyous occasion turned into a nightmare of grief. Randy Hoyt watched helplessly as his wife Kris went into hospital for an emergency Caesarean section operation when only 5 months pregnant. The bleeding was tremendous. Kris required 30 units of blood. As the doctors battled to save her life Randy cried out to God "God, what do you want? I know you can heal her; why don’t you?" God didn’t heal her. Kris and 16 days later their prematurely born daughter Grace lost her struggle for life. Randy was left the single parent of six children. "What about our plans, God?" he asked. "Who will teach the kids, guide them, and love them like their mother?" Randy soon found out. A program was started which became known as "Help Bring Hope to the Hoyt Kids." Over the next six months, hundreds of people worked, sent money, donated meals and supplies and poured love into Randy’s family. Randy received more than 500 letters, e-mails and cards from people who said they were praying for us. At the end of the six months the medical bills are all paid, the mortgage has been paid and Randy is back at work. God did not save his wife, but God’s love was ministered to Randy and his children in deeply profound ways after Kris’ death. The pain of Kris’ and Grace’s death of course remained. Yet when he started to sink into despair Randy could imagine the two of them in heaven together, fully alive, healthy and full of joy. "See her as she is now," he felt the Holy Spirit saying. "She is alive." Reflecting upon his experience Chris says, "I asked God for the life of my wife; I received instead a lesson on the nature of God. God is good. Armed with that knowledge, I have no fear for today or the future. God will always be enough…for any situation." – Source: reported by Randy Hoyt, "Seeing God," Pentecostal Evangel, January 21, 2001, pp.14-15
E. Psalms 34:8 "O taste and see that the LORD is good: blessed is the man that trusts in him."
II. BE THANKFUL TO GOD FOR HIS LOVE
A. 1 John 4:8 "He that loves not knows not God; for God is love."
B. From God’s other known attributes we may learn much about his love. We can know, for instance, that because God is self-existent, his love had no beginning; because he is eternal, his love can have no end; because he is infinite, it has no limit; because he is holy, it is the quintessence of all spotless purity; because he is immense, his love is an incomprehensibly vast, bottomless, shoreless sea before which we kneel in joyful silence and from which the loftiest eloquence retreats confused and abashed. -source unknown
C. The love of God is greater far, Than tongue or pen can ever tell, Could we with ink the ocean fill, and were the heavens of parchment made, Were every stalk on earth a quill, and every man a scribe by trade, To write the love of God above would drain the ocean dry, Nor could the scroll contain the whole, Though stretched from sky to sky. – Chaldee Ode
D. God is love, not, God is loving. God and love are synonymous. Love is not an attribute of God, it is God; whatever God is, love is. If your conception of love does not agree with justice and judgment and purity and holiness, then your idea of love is wrong. – Oswald Chambers (1874-1917)
E. The only way God’s love makes sense is when it is seen as personal (not mechanical). He doesn’t start your stalled car for you; but he comes and sits with you in the snow bank. – Robert F. Capon
F. John 3:16
III. BE THANKFUL TO GOD FOR HIS SON
A. 2 Corinthians 9:15 "Thanks be unto God for his unspeakable gift."
B. Thanks be to God for the inexpressible gift, which God had granted to us in bestowing His Son to die for us.
C. There are absolutely no words, which can sufficiently express, nor any language that can convey an adequate description of the value of the gift of God’s Son, and of the eternal riches, which we benefit from it.
D. No matter how much we try, words fail to adequately communicate
1. The wealth of glory and splendor Christ left behind when he was made flesh
• 2 Corinthians 8:9 "For ye know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, that, though he was rich, yet for your sakes he became poor, that ye through his poverty might be rich."
2. The depth of suffering which Jesus endured on the road of Calvary
• Isaiah 53:4-8 "Surely he hath borne our griefs, and carried our sorrows: yet we did esteem him stricken, smitten of God, and afflicted. But he was wounded for our transgressions, he was bruised for our iniquities: the chastisement of our peace was upon him; and with his stripes we are healed. All we like sheep have gone astray; we have turned every one to his own way; and the LORD hath laid on him the iniquity of us all."
3. The vastness of the Lord’s love that prompted his self-sacrifice
• Romans 5:8 "But God commends his love toward us, in that, while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us."
IV. BE THANKFUL TO GOD FOR HIS ABIDING PRESENCE
A. 1 Corinthians 15:57 ’But thanks be to God, which gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ."
B. Not left alone to fend for self but assured of victory.
C. Isaiah 41:10 "Fear thou not, for I am with thee; be not dismayed, for I am thy God. I will strengthen thee; yea, I will help thee; yea, I will uphold thee with the right hand of My righteousness."
D. One of the world’s most loved comic strips is Hagar the Horrible. In one strip we find Hagar kneeling in prayer. "It’s not easy to believe in you God. We never see you. How come you never show yourself? How do we know you even exist…"
Next we see
• a flower springing into life beside Hagar,
• a volcano erupting in the distance,
• an eclipse of sun turning the sky black,
• a star shooting across the stratosphere;
• a tidal wave rushing over Hagar,
• lightning flashing,
• a bush beginning to burn,
• a stone rolling away from the entrance to a tomb.
Hagar pulls himself from the mud, dripping wet, surrounded by darkness. "OK, OK. I give up! Every time I bring up this subject, all we get is interruptions."
E. Kurt Cobain was the lead singer of legendary grunge band Nirvana. He tragically took his own life in an act of suicide. Despite his widespread fame, great wealth and adulation as a rock star he grew terribly lonely and depressed. In the days leading up to his suicide one of his diary entries read: "Somebody, anybody, God help, help me please. I want to be accepted...I’m so tired of crying and dreaming, I’m soo soo alone." Source: Charles Cross, Heavier Than Heaven: A Biography of Kurt Cobain. Reported in Rolling Stone magazine, November 2001
F. Hebrews 13:5 "…I will never leave thee, nor forsake thee."
V. BE THANKFUL TO GOD FOR HIS FAMILY
A. 2 Thessalonians 2:13 "But we are bound to give thanks always to God for you, brethren beloved of the Lord, because God hath from the beginning chosen you to salvation through sanctification of the Spirit and belief of the truth"
B. C.S. Lewis was grateful for the church and wrote, "Left to oneself, one could easily slide away from ’the faith once given,’ into a phantom called ‘my religion.’" – C.S. Lewis, Letters to Malcolm, p. 12
C. Psalm 122:1 "I was glad when they said unto me, Let us go into the house of the LORD."
D. I am grateful for the church because it:
1. Provides a means of public profession of faith and identification with Christ by baptism and membership
2. Supplies spiritual growth through biblical teaching
3. Grants the opportunity for Christian fellowship
4. Enhances prayer – note Matthew 18:20 "For where two or three are gathered together in My name, I am there in the midst of them."
5. Offers a place for the exercising of one’s spiritual gifts.
6. Makes available corporate worship.
7. Presents options for Christian service and outreach.
E. Ephesians 5:25b "… Christ also loved the church, and gave himself for it."
F. From the door of an orphanage to the house of the King, No longer an outcast, a new song I sing. From rags unto riches, from the weak to the strong. I’m not worthy to be here, but praise God, I belong. I’m so glad I’m a part of the family of God. I’ve been washed in the fountain, cleansed by His blood! Joint heirs with Jesus as we travel this sod, for I’m part of the family, the Family of God. "The Family Of God",© 1970 William J. Gaither, Inc. ARR UBP of Gaither Copyright Management CCLI License No. 754427
CONCLUSION: What are you thankful for today? Have you experienced the riches of His goodness and love through His Son, Jesus Christ? Do you have the peace and joy of His abiding presence? Are you a part of the family of God? With a thankful heart come and receive the wonderful blessings He has for you today.
