Title: Developing A Spirit Of Thanksgiving
Text: I Chron 16:8
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Introduction:
- A question this morning that I want to ask is this, Why should we give thanks to God?
- What is the purpose of giving thanks to God?
- When we look at our world from what we are hearing in the news and what we are seeing, many people will have a hard time to be thankful
- To be thankful, means that we have to choose to be thankful. Being thankful is a choice that we make, and we should never look around us to gain strength.
- Keeping an attitude of thankfulness we keep you from being ungrateful.
- Ungratefulness leads to selfishness, and selfishness leads to freedom from God. Listen to this story:
Thankfulness seems to be a lost art today. Warren Wiersby illustrated this problem in his commentary on Colossians. He told about a ministerial student in Evanston, Illinois, who was part of a life-saving squad. In 1860, a ship went aground on the shore of Lake Michigan near Evanston, and Edward Spencer waded again and again into the frigid waters to rescue 17 passengers. In the process, his health was permanently damaged. Some years later at his funeral, it was noted that not one of the people he rescued ever thanked him.
- So the question is this morning, why should we give thanks to God? I want to show you 5 reasons we give thanks to God.
Point 1: Because Giving Thanks Is A Choice
Psalm 7:17 says, “I will give thanks to the Lord because of His righteousness and will sing praise to the name of the Lord Most High.”
Psalm 30:12 says, “that my heart may sing to you and not be silent. O Lord my God, I will give you thanks forever.”
Psalm 35:18 says, “I will give you thanks in the great assembly, among throngs of people I will praise you.”
- Life can be looked at in two different ways:
i. Unthankful - always looking at the negetive
ii. Thankful - Looking at the positive, which is God.
- I like this story about the first thanksgiving in America which was founded upon being thankful in the midst of difficulty.
The first American Thanksgiving didn’t occur in 1621 when a group of Pilgrims shared a feast with a group of friendly Indians. The first recorded thanksgiving took place in Virginia more than 11 years earlier, and it wasn’t a feast. The winter of 1610 at Jamestown had reduced a group of 409 settlers to 60. The survivors prayed for help, without knowing when or how it might come. When help arrived, in the form of a ship filled with food and supplies from England, a prayer meeting was held to give thanks to God.
- The individuals could look at there situation in two different ways:
- They could have focused on the negative, people that were dead, the hardship, questioning why.
- But instead the people focused on what God had done, and gave Him thanks. Giving thanks is a choice we make in life, even in the midst of difficulty.
- David was thankful, but it did not come from being super spiritual, but rather choice.
- We give thanks to God because....
Point 2: Because God Is Near
Psalm 75:1 says, “We give thanks to you, O God, we give thanks, for your Name is near, men tell of your wonderful deeds.”
- Jesus is as close as the mention of His name the Bible tells us.
- We all no that we have a God that is with us in the good times and bad times.
(Give story of baseball series)
When I watched the series between the New York Yankees and Minnesota Twins I saw people, cheering for the players of there favorite team. Both young and old were cheering and screaming there heads off.
When I was watching the Lord dropped this observation in my mind, and the thought was, not everyone is happy who is there. But they are still cheering and praising the team they love. When the pitcher made a good pitch they would thank him for doing a good job.
- The point is people with problems in there life would praise and thank a team, who can’t hear them. All the players hear is noise and screams.
- But God hears our thanks, and if people with all there difficulty can praise other people for hitting a ball. Then we should be able to as well.
- The difference between God and baseball players is God is near and hears us, baseball players don’t hear our praise and don’t know us.
- This should give us excitement to thank God because He is near and loves us.
- We give thanks to God because......
Point 3: Because God Is Good
Psalm 107:1 says, “Give thanks to the Lord, for He is good; His love endures forever”
Psalm 136:1 says, “Give thanks to the Lord, for He is good; His love endures forever.”
- Good means that God loves us.
- God’s love includes mercy, faithfulness, and kindness.
- Don’t look at what goodness can give you now, but what God’s goodness will produce for you, Heaven.
- Because of His mercy, we are forgiving.
- Because God is faithful, we can trust Him.
- We can be assured that what God starts in our lives, He will finish.
Scottish minister Alexander Whyte was known for his uplifting prayers in the pulpit. He always found something for which to be grateful. One Sunday morning the weather was so gloomy that one church member thought to himself, "Certainly the preacher won’t think of anything for which to thank the Lord on a wretched day like this." Much to his surprise, however, Whyte began by praying, "We thank Thee, O God, that it is not always like this."
- God is good and we can always find in everything that comes our way, to be thankful, in everything. Because God is good and will never fail us.
We give thanks to God because....
Point 4: Because God Gives Us The Victory
I Cor 15:57 says, “But thanks be to God! He gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ.”
- God is in the business of complete victory.
- Everywhere Jesus went, He brought victory. That has not changed, the Holy Spirit is on the earth and God is in the business of complete victory in your life and mine.
- We have victory in this life and in the life to come.
- Jesus has defeated the devil and has stripped the enemy of all power.
- We have the power through Christ to defeat the enemy in our lives and live victorious.
- Sometimes we can become discouraged, fearful or lonely.
- In order to defeat the enemy, we need to pray, encourage one another, read and apply the Word, and thank God for the victory.
- God will give us the victory both in this life and the life to come, in Heaven.
Point 5: Because God Leads Us
II Cor 2:14 says, “But thanks be to God, who always leads us in triumphal procession in Christ and through us spreads everywhere the fragrance of the knowledge of Him.”
- God leads us to people in our lives.
- God leads us in His Word.
- God brings direction and guidance to our lives when we seek Him and thank Him.
- We also need to thank God because Paul under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit, describes us as believers being displayed by God to the world as a triumph and trophy of Christ’s redeeming grace.
- God showcases us to the world, so the world can see that God can change anyone who will be willing and wanting to be redeemed.
- When Christians thank God, we open ourselves to God’s direction in all things. God begins to speak to us from His Word and to us personally.
- Train yourself to thank God in all things.
Conclusion:
- In conclusion I want to close with this story to sum up all that we have been talking about:
In Budapest, a man goes to the rabbi and complains, "Life is unbearable. There are nine of us living in one room. What can I do?"
The rabbi answers, "Take your goat into the room with you." The man is puzzled, but the rabbi insists. "Do as I say and come back in a week."
A week later the man comes back looking more distraught than before. "We cannot stand it," he tells the rabbi. "The goat is filthy."
The rabbi then tells him, "Go home and let the goat out. And come back in a week."
A radiant man returns to the rabbi a week later, exclaiming, "Life is beautiful. We enjoy every minute of it now that there’s no goat -- only the nine of us.”
- The point of this whole message this morning was to show us all that we can be thankful no matter what the circumstance.
- We need to develop thanfulness in our lives toward God so that we can thrive in the 5 areas I mentioned:
1. Giving Thanks Is A Choice
2. God Is Near
3. God Is Good
4. God Gives Us The Victory
5. God Leads Us.
- We will never experience God fully, we are not thankful people. Because not being thankful will produce ungratefulness and ungratefulness leads to selfishness and selfishness leads to freedom from God not with God.
- Make it your choice, in your prayer closet become a thankful person and experience all that God has for you.
Lets Pray!!!
