Continuing through the month of November, we will look at the theme of thankfulness. Many things in life can pull us down and it is difficult to maintain an attitude of thankfulness, but with God’s help, we can do it.
There is a story told of two old friends, Bob and Dan, who bumped into one another on the street one day. Bob looked forlorn, almost on the verge of tears. Dan asked, "What has the world done to you, my old friend?"
Bob said, "Let me tell you. Three weeks ago, my long lost uncle died and left me forty thousand dollars."
"That’s a lot of money" Dan replied.
Bob continued, "Two weeks ago, a cousin I never even knew died, and left me eighty-five thousand dollars."
"Sounds like you’ve been blessed...” Dan began to say.
"You don’t understand!” Bob interrupted. "Last week a distant
aunt passed away. I inherited almost a quarter of a million from her."
Now Dan was confused, "Then, why do you look so glum?"
Bob responded, "This week... NOTHING!"
Lets turn in our Bibles to Luke Chapter 11
Lk 17:11 Now on his way to Jerusalem, Jesus traveled along the border between Samaria and Galilee.
Lk 17:12 As he was going into a village, ten men who had leprosy met him. They stood at a distance
Lk 17:13 and called out in a loud voice, “Jesus, Master, have pity on us!”
Lk 17:14 When he saw them, he said, “Go, show yourselves to the priests.” And as they went, they were cleansed.
Lk 17:15 One of them, when he saw he was healed, came back, praising God in a loud voice.
Lk 17:16 He threw himself at Jesus’ feet and thanked him—and he was a Samaritan.
Lk 17:17 Jesus asked, “Were not all ten cleansed? Where are the other nine?
Lk 17:18 Was no one found to return and give praise to God except this foreigner?”
Lk 17:19 Then he said to him, “Rise and go; your faith has made you well.”
I would think the other nine were likely off celebrating with their families. After all so much had been lost in their lives and God would know they were grateful, wouldn’t He? I am sure the other nine had people to show. People who had stood with them throughout this ordeal and illness and after all God could see them and He knew they were grateful, right? There had been so many public places these men had been shunned away from, now they could do all the things they had been missing and God was with them in their hearts, wasn’t He? All these things are likely true, but still Jesus asked the question, “Where are the other nine?”
Today we will focus on three areas of thankfulness:
Expressing our thankfulness, when we have other things to do.
Expressing our thankfulness, for what we have.
Expressing our thankfulness, when times are tough.
In the movie, “Shenandoah” Jimmy Stewart’s plays the patriarch of a large Southern family, running a successful plantation when the Civil War broke out. His attitude was is one generally expressed by many hard working people at some point in their lives.
Early in the movie the family sat down for dinner, and as they all bowed their heads, this is what Stewart prayed:
’Lord, we cleared this land, we plowed it, sowed it, and harvested it. It wouldn’t be here and we wouldn’t be eating it if we hadn’t done it all ourselves. We worked dog-bone hard for every crumb and morsel, but we thank you just the same anyway for this food we are about to eat. Amen’
Spoken or unspoken, this may be the attitude of far too many hearts, even Christian ones. God provided the dirt, the ability to reason, hence the plow. God provided the weather the previous year that provided the seed and the current summer, which allowed for this years harvest. The truth is that the food we eat the clothes we wear, the very air we breathe, are a gift from God every day, for every man woman or child, saved or unsaved, whether you worked ‘dog-bone hard’ to get it or not. Nothing is strictly ours; nothing."
ii. Expressing our thankfulness, for what we have.
In Matthew chapter 15 we read of the account of Jesus providing lunch for over 4,000 people.
Mt 15:34 “How many loaves do you have?” Jesus asked.
“Seven,” they replied, “and a few small fish.”
Mt 15:35 He told the crowd to sit down on the ground.
Mt 15:36 Then he took the seven loaves and the fish, and when he had given thanks, he broke them and gave them to the disciples, and they in turn to the people.
Mt 15:37 They all ate and were satisfied. Afterward the disciples picked up seven basketfuls of broken pieces that were left over.
In verse 36 it says, “He took the seven loaves and the fish, and when he had given thanks, he broke them and gave them to the people.”
Despite the overwhelming reality, Jesus gave thanks. Think about it. There were 4,000 people to feed and no where near enough food to do it and Jesus gave thanks anyway.
The story is told of a clever old preacher who served several churches in North Dakota. The people were always amazed, for no matter what the circumstances; the preacher could always find something to give thanks for. As he made his rounds one cold December morning, he was late in getting to one service because of excessive snow drifts. As he began the service with prayer, the parishioners were eager to see what the old preacher could come up with to be thankful for on this dismal and frigid morning. "Gracious Lord," his prayer began, "we thank you that all days are not like today.”
You may not have to feed 4,000 on seven loaves and a few fish, but feeding a family on a meager income can be challenging as well. A small serving with gratitude is more filling than an abundance served with bitterness.
Being grateful for what you have is key to happiness.
The tenth commandment is recorded in Exodus 20:17, “You shall not covet your neighbor’s house. You shall not covet your neighbor’s wife, or his manservant or maidservant, his ox or donkey, or anything that belongs to your neighbor.” The reason that coveting is destructive is because when we want things others have we overlook what we already have. When we overlook what we do have, we miss what God has given us. So consequently, we work ‘dog-bone hard’ our whole life only do die lacking what we wanted the most, happiness. Which of course is the only thing money cannot buy.
III. Expressing our thankfulness, when times are tough.
Mt 26:26 While they were eating, Jesus took bread, gave thanks and broke it, and gave it to his disciples, saying, “Take and eat; this is my body.”
Mt 26:27 Then he took the cup, gave thanks and offered it to them, saying, “Drink from it, all of you.
Mt 26:28 This is my blood of the covenant, which is poured out for many for the forgiveness of sins.
At one time at the City Temple in London, there was in the congregation a wealthy restaurateur named Emil Mettler. Mettler would often not allow a Christian worker to pay for a meal in his restaurant. Once he happened to open his cash register in the presence of a Secretary of the London Missionary Society and the Secretary was astonished to see among the bills and coins a six-inch nail.
“What was it doing there?”
Mettler explained, "I keep this nail with my money to remind me of the price that Christ paid for my salvation and of what I owe Him in return."
Ro 12:1 Therefore, I urge you, brothers, in view of God’s mercy, to offer your bodies as living sacrifices, holy and pleasing to God—this is your spiritual act of worship.
Ro 12:2 Do not conform any longer to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God’s will is—his good, pleasing and perfect will.
By entering into His service of having and showing an attitude of love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control (Gal 5:22-23). We enter into of an attitude of gratefulness, that will brighten even the worst of days.
One day 2 men were talking as they saw a woman walking down the road. One of the men said, “That’s Mrs. Jones. She always has something good to say about everyone.” The other man decided to test her, so when she got close he hollered, “Mrs. Jones, what do you think about the devil?” She thought for a second and answered, “He sure is busy isn’t he?” You can find something good to say about almost anything. When you look at life through the possibilities of what God provides.
