Thanksgiving

 

1.    The Butter Ball Turkey company set up a hot line for questions about turkeys.

2.    One lady called and said she had an old bird; it has been in her freezer for 23 years.

3.    She wanted to know if her food was okay.  Would it be safe after more than 20 years?

4.    She was told it would be safe if the temperature had been less than 0 for the entire time.

5.    Safety would probably not be an issue, but taste would likely be a problem.

6.    After 23 years the flavor would probably not be what she expected or wanted.

7.    The lady said, “That is what I thought.  I will give the turkey to my church.”

8.    One wonders how much the lady appreciates the people where she worshipped.

 

9.    When it comes to giving and being thankful, there are those who need a refresher course.

10.  Appreciation and gratitude are often forgotten commandments.

11.  In many ways society has come to accept thanklessness as standard behavior.

 

WHEN WE LOOK AT THE NEW TESTAMENT WE FIND A LOT OF ATTENTION DIRECTED TO THE SUBJECT OF THANKFULNESS.

    

a)      One of the places where we find this is in the Gospels.

b)      Jesus was someone who “gave thanks.”  For example, the Lord expressed appreciation for food.

c)      Listen to Mt. 15:36 – READ

d)     This is not the only meal Jesus was involved with where expressing appreciation.

 

2)      We also find Him associated with what is called the “last supper

3)      Later in Matthew (26:27) we find these words:  READ

4)      Jesus associated food with thanksgiving.  We should make that same association.

a)      Food is a basic need to survive.  If we have it, we should be grateful.

b)      It is true that we may not always have the kind of food we want.

c)      In America it is easy to become choosy about things.

d)     We may want the right brand, the right taste, the right temperature, and the right amount.

e)      We may want it served t the right time and at least three times a day.

f)       We may not only want plenty of food, we want snacks.

g)      Some may get all these things and yet still be thankless.

 

5)      If there is food on our table to eat, and enough of it, we have an obligation to be grateful.

6)      Jesus was thankful about food, but His gratitude went beyond it.

7)      He was thankful for His relationship with the Father.

a)      In Jn. 11:41 He said, He was “thankful” the Father heard Him.

b)      How many times do Christians sit down and thank God for spiritual blessings?

c)      Are we thankful that we have a place to worship?  Are we grateful we have fellow Christians?

d)     Do we appreciate the fact that we can worship in peace?

e)      Are we grateful that we have a copy of the Bible in our native language?

f)       Are we grateful that we have come to a knowledge of the truth?

g)      Are we thankful that our friends and family members have also obeyed the gospel?

h)      Do we express our appreciation to God that we have voices that allow us to sing?

 

8)      Are we appreciative that we can give our means?  Giving means we have a source of income.

9)      Do we thank God for the Lord's Supper each Sunday?  It is a means of remembering Jesus.

10)  It is easy to become a church basher and we find a lot of that in our world.

a)      People can bash the preacher, whack the elders and thump the deacons.

b)      They can rail at the Bible class teachers, and condemn those who help in various other ways.

c)      Finding fault with people rarely leads to thanksgiving, and thanksgiving is a part of Christianity.

 

11)  Thanksgiving is such a simple thing, but for many it is also a forgotten thing.

a)      A story is told about a woman who had her arms laden with packages.

b)      She got on a bus, a man saw her plight, and this fellow offered her seat.

c)      The woman was so shocked someone would do this she fainted.

d)     She was revived and then quickly saw the man who had relinquished his seat.

e)      When the lady turned to this man and said “thank you,” he then fainted with surprise.

 

12)  That story is likely not true, but it does illustrate an important point:  appreciation.

13)  People often fail in this area.  Even Jesus had to deal with people who were thankless.

a)      Luke (17:11-19) records for us a story about 10 lepers.

b)      These men had one of the most serious diseases known to man.  There was no known cure.

c)      Luke tells us Jesus healed these men.  He did not make them feel better.

d)     He did not remove most of their symptoms.  He completely erased their problem.

e)      If Jesus had charged for this treatment, we would like to think the men would have been grateful.

f)       Getting rid of this condition would have been worth all these men could have ever made.

 

14)  Jesus did not charge these men a single cent; His healing was free!

15)  Yet, in spite of what the Lord did, what was the response from these formerly diseased men?

16)  90% of them were not truly grateful.

17)  We might understand of 1 of the ten men had not been thankful.

18)  There might have been “one rotten apple” in the bunch.

19)  Listen to Lk. 17:17-18 – READ

a)      Only 1 out of ten men showed appreciation.

b)      This was probably the most significant thing to happen to these men in their lives.

c)      Yet, they did not turn to Jesus and say two simple words:  “thank you.”

 

20)  For the last 2,000 years and well before that, men and women have been thankless.

21)  Children have often been thankless as well as adults.  Failing to show gratitude frustrates people.

22)  Christians should take the lead in showing appreciation to others.

a)      Jesus’ apostles certainly learned this lesson.

b)      Even when circumstances were difficult, thankfulness was in the hearts.

c)      One example of this is found in 27.

d)     In verses 7-8 of this chapter we find Paul sailing on a ship during a bad time of year.

e)      It was a dangerous time to sail (verse 9), and Paul discussed this with the sailors.

f)       Paul also issued a warning:  verse 10 – READ

 

23)  Rather than listen to Paul, a decision was made to continue.

24)  That turned out to be a bad choice; a terrible storm came.  Cargo had to be thrown overboard (verse 18).

25)  The storm lasted for days (verse 20).  Finally all hope was gone – verse 20 –READ

a)      Paul made a prediction – verse 22 – READ

b)      Let’s also see what is in verses 31-35 – READ

 

26)  Here was a man who was in desperate circumstances.

27)  He was on a ship that was going to be destroyed.  He was a prisoner.

28)  He had been in a terrible storm for at least two weeks.

29)  In spite of all these things, this man still found reasons to be thankful.

30)  He showed that gratitude before all.  This was not the politically correct thing to do, but he did it.

a)      Thankfulness does not mean we will always like all our circumstances.

b)      Perhaps some have the idea that we wait until everything is good and we are grateful then.

c)      That is not what we find in Acts 27.

d)     Whether our circumstances are good or bad, we are to be thankful.

 

31)  Our thankfulness needs to be expressed, and this is not limited to mere words.

32)  Of course, one way to be thankful to God is through prayer.

33)  We can express appreciation for all the things mentioned a few moments ago.

34)  Thankfulness can also come (and needs to come) by our actions.

a)      We have expressions like, “don’t tell me – show me.”

b)      We can show our thankfulness to God.

c)      We can also show a lack of thankfulness to God.

 

35)  If we are grateful to God, does this show in our lives?

36)  Jesus said we are to love God with all the heart, soul, and mind (Mt. 22:37).

37)  Why would we do that?  Part of the reason is thankfulness.

38)  If we do love God in the way Jesus described, it will show.

39)  Jesus once warned there is much work to do, but few workers (Mt. 9:37-38).

40)  Why are workers so few?  A big part of the reason is appreciation.

41)  If people really appreciated the salvation God gives to man, there would be gratitude.

42)  Some may be ashamed of the gospel (Rom. 1:16), but thankfulness overcomes that.

a)      Not long ago I had a discussion with a woman.

b)      She went into great detail about the death of her son a year ago.

c)      For a long time she struggled with his death; it seemed like she could not overcome it.

 

43)  Then she began to understand some things about God’s graciousness to man.

44)  This lady does not accurately convey God’s plan for salvation, but I do credit her with this much:

45)  She has found many reasons for why she can be grateful to God and that has changed her.

a)      She said in the past she hardly ever talked to anyone about the Bible and Christianity.

b)      Now she talks to everyone because she has found gratitude in her heart.

c)      Too often people look at God and say, “What can I be thankful for?”

d)     To that we might point the person to Jas. 1:17.

e)      James said “every good gift” comes from God.

f)       If we have even just one good thing, it is an item for which we can be grateful.

g)      Being appreciative and acting on that are choices.

h)      Isaiah (29:13) said our lips can honor God while our hearts deny Him.

i)        Far too often that is what happens—the lips express appreciation, but it is not in the heart.

 

46)  Not being grateful is a very unwise choice; Rom. 1:18-21 says this results in God’s wrath.

47)  Are we thankful to God?  If so, how are we demonstrating that?

48)  Do we demonstrate it in worship?

49)  Do we demonstrate it in our day to day lives?

50)  We cannot really be thankful to God until we become a Christian.

51)  That act begins a life of thanksgiving.