The Power Of Thanksgiving

The Power Of Thanksgiving

CCCAG November 28th, 2021

Scripture: 1 Thess 5:16-18

We're going to start off today with an exercise.

I want you to close your eyes.

Picture in your mind what Jesus may have looked like when he was here on this earth.

Now I want you to focus particularly on his facial expression.

What expression does he have? (poll the congregation)

A person’s resting facial expression tells you a lot about what they are truly like.

I was thinking this last week as I sat deer hunting about how Jesus may have looked to those around him. I'm not talking about being tall or short thin or chubby. I'm definitely not talking about the color of his skin, hair or eye color.

I was thinking- did he look approachable? Did he seem friendly?

One thing that struck me is that children ran to him. They were very comfortable with him.

How many people here have ever tried to introduce themselves to a small child only to have that child turn and run back to their mom crying.

I see that a lot working at hospital. Mom brings the child in for an earache and good luck get in anywhere near that child to look in their ears without five people holding them down.

Jesus didn't seem to have that problem. In fact so many children wanted to come to him that is disciples tried to keep them away from Jesus and pushed them back from what they thought was an interruption in his teaching. Jesus rebuked his disciples and said these children are the reason that he came in the first place.

Jesus had a way about him and a personality and a spiritual force if you will that was highly attractive to others.

I asked myself, “what was that one ingredient in our Lord character that made him attractive to others, even people that had a reason not too particularly like him (like the woman at the well)”

I think that vital ingredient in Jesus’ life was that he was always thankful.

When you read the gospels, whenever he was going to do something miraculous or profound, he always started out by giving thanks.

You and I look at giving thanks as a response.

but Jesus looked at giving thanks as a way of life. It was the precursor to anything that he did or asked God for.

Paul the apostle gave us is small glimpse into this idea when he wrote to the church at Thessalonica. He gave them three things to focus on to live a fruitful and successful Christian life.

1 Thess 5:16-18

16 Be joyful always; 17 pray continually; 18 give thanks in all circumstances, for this is God's will for you in Christ Jesus.

Prayer

This morning we are going to talk about the power of thanksgiving.

Not just the holiday where we cut up a turkey and have a feast. Not just the holiday from work that we get to celebrate with family. Not the week that gun deer season happens.

There is power in this idea of living a life where we start and end with giving thanks and simply becoming a thankful person.

Let’s look at what this idea of living a life of thanksgiving can do for us-

I. It orients our nature

I want you to look at that scripture again where Paul says be joyful always, pray continually, and give thanks in all circumstances

Now turn that verse around.

Paul is saying that if you want to live a life that is full of joy, be thankful always, even in all circumstances.

But it starts with Thanksgiving.

If you stop and think about all the chaos that exists in our world today it all stems from having a lack of Thanksgiving.

People are not thankful for anything anymore.

I read a great post on social media-

“America is the only place on earth where we go from one day of giving thanks for what we have to the next day beating people up in stores on Black Friday to get more”

A lot of truth there.

We want to be thankful- as Christian’s it should be our default mode.

However, this world system is structured to strip away any idea of being thankful.

We spoke about Black Friday being one of the things that can strip away our ability to be thankful, but also consider-

Everything in the news media is about us versus them.

those people over there are the reason you can't live your full life.

Whether it's because of racism

or because they're rich and you're not

or they’re Republican or Democrat

Liberal or conservative

Christian or atheist.

It’s all about separating people into camps- making them think that other group is the source of all of their problems, and creating an anger against them from taking something that you should have- jobs, possessions, wealth, status, equality, or you name it- they are the reasons you don’t have it, so hate them for it.