A Heart Of Thanksgiving

Good morning from a cold Panhandle. Today is our community Thanksgiving Service. We will meet with our neighbors at the United Methodist Church this morning and celebrate the LORD and all H e does for us and then we will sit down to a meal together. It is a great time of celebration and of fellowship. This year I am using a sermon by Calvin Wittman as my starting point. Now I know many countries around the world do not celebrate a day of Thanksgiving like we do here in the U.S. but we as Christians should celebrate thanksgiving in our hearts all year round.

I believe as Christians we have so much to be grateful for, more things than we can even fathom. There is a story of a wealthy Texan who was in the habit of giving his father unique gifts every father's day. One year it was hang-gliding lessons. The year before it was the entire record collection of Slim Whitman's Hits, autographed by the singer himself. But this past year he had outdone himself. He purchased a rare kind of South American bird, called the translator. This bird could speak five languages and sing "Yellow Rose of Texas" in any key while standing on one foot. This rare bird cost $10,000, but the son felt it was worth every penny. This would be the Father's Day gift his dad would never forget.

A week after Father's Day he called his father. "Dad, how did you like the bird?" His father responded, "It was delicious."

We have so much that sometimes we can't see the great value of all God has given us. That is ingratitude. Francis Schaeffer once said, "The beginning of man's rebellion against God was, and is, the lack of a thankful heart."

Nowhere is that sentiment more eloquently expressed than in W. E. Henley's famous poem entitled "Invictus," which in Latin means "unconquered." It is a testimony to the unconquerable human spirit. It's imagery is that of a person standing at the gates of hell, unafraid because he is sufficient unto himself. You've may heard the final stanza, which says:

"It matters not how strait the gate,
How charged with punishments the scroll,
I am the master of my fate,
I am the captain of my soul."

How well this summarizes the sentiments of our day. It is an attitude that sees ones self as the source of strength, happiness, and prosperity. We, as Christians, are influenced by this sentiment and live with the ever-present danger of thinking that we are what we are, or have what we have, solely because of what we have done. It is an attitude that runs against scriptural teaching and is inconsistent with the Spirit-filled life.

Those of us who know Christ Jesus, who have been born again, washed in His blood and given the gift of eternal life, should never give in to this way of thinking. We have so much to be thankful for. We have the gospel - the good news - and the privilege of sharing it with the rest of the world.

Psalm 100:1-5
Shout for joy to the LORD, all the earth.
2 Worship the LORD with gladness;
come before him with joyful songs.
3 Know that the LORD is God.
It is he who made us, and we are his;
we are his people, the sheep of his pasture.

4 Enter his gates with thanksgiving
and his courts with praise;
give thanks to him and praise his name.
5 For the LORD is good and his love endures forever;
his faithfulness continues through all generations.

1. The LORD Is Worthy Of Praise (vs. 1)

“Shout joyfully to the LORD, all the earth.” The KJV says, "Make a joyful noise unto the Lord, all ye lands."

Kaufmann Kohler states in the Jewish Encyclopedia that no language has as many words for joy and rejoicing as does Hebrew. In the Old Testament 13 Hebrew roots, found in 27 different words, are used primarily for some aspect of joy or joyful participation in religious worship.

Pure joy, is joy in God both as its source and object. The psalmist says, "You reveal the path of life to me; in Your presence is abundant joy; in Your right hand are eternal pleasures" (Psalm 16:11).

The word "noise" means to break forth with, or to burst out with. It sends the imagery of someone who is so full of an emotion that they are unable of containing themselves. At our basketball games I've seen the emotion people express when someone makes a good play. They get excited. They make noise. They get enthused. Do you know the history of the word "enthused?" It comes to us from a Greek word that means to be possessed by God. If that's the case, then why do very few people in Churches today show enthusiasm when it comes to the LORD?

2. The LORD Is Worthy Of Service (vs. 2)

Service to the LORD implies three things:

1. Humility - you can't serve someone unless you have a humble attitude.
2. Fidelity - service implies faithfulness, otherwise it would not be service but betrayal.
3. Activity - you can't serve someone if you don't do anything.

Remember, God is more concerned with what we are than what we do because what we are will determine what we do. So many people who claim to know Christ Jesus as Lord and Savior live lives devoid of joy or gladness. That's because they have focused on the wrong things. 

Some serve Him out of greed. This person does what they do for the Lord or His church only for what they can get in return.

Others serve the Lord with a grudge. This attitude asks, "Why do I have to do this for God? Haven't I done enough already?" These folks honesty think they have paid their debt to God and that somehow God owes them something.

While some serve out of greed and others with a grudge, others see service to our Lord as a grind. These people have lost the Joy of their salvation.

We are not to serve the Lord out of greed, with a grudge or as a grind. We are to serve with gladness.
 

3. The LORD Is Worthy Of Our Thanksgiving and Praise (vs. 4)

When the Scripture tells us to bless the Lord it is telling us that we must profess, acknowledge, accredit, recognize, and confess with our words and deeds that God alone is the source of all true happiness and blessings in life.

When we do this we have no choice but to give thanks. That's why it is impossible to be in right relationship with God and be void of this attitude of gratitude. This is the natural result of a proper understanding of who God is and what He has done for us. 

Gratitude displayed is the evidence of a proper understanding of who God is.

Conclusion:  

No one else deserves our service like God does. He is God. He must be first in our lives. Before our career, before our family, before our children, before our wife, before our own desires, before everything. God must be first. This is our motivation for service with gladness. This is how we can live with an attitude of gratitude, because the LORD we serve is God.

The LORD made us and we are His. This is a stinging rebuttal to the thought that we are self made and that we deserve credit for the blessings that fill our lives. God made us and we are His, and when we sold ourselves to sin He bought us back with the blood of His precious Son Christ Jesus.

We are His people, the sheep of His pasture. We are His representatives here on earth. As His sheep He leads us, provides for us, guides us, comforts us, protects us, and prospers us. He alone is the source of all our blessings.

An ancient Chinese proverb says, "When you drink from the stream, remember the spring." If we drink from the stream of His goodness we must remember that He is the fount of every blessing. And for this we can truly be thankful.