THE GIVING OF THANKS

THE GIVING OF THANKS

THANKSGIVING

November 20, 2005

Introduction

This Thursday is Thanksgiving. What does it mean? What is it all about? For some, it will be a day of food and football, and some have come to refer to Thanksgiving as Turkey Day, but does it matter? How important is thanksgiving?

When we think of the history of thanksgiving in this country, we must realize that those who originated thanksgiving had very little for which to be thankful compared with what we have today.

Life was hard in the New World. Out of 103 Pilgrims, 51 of these died in the first terrible winter. After the first harvest was completed, Governor William Bradford proclaimed a day of Thanksgiving and prayer. By 1623, a day of fasting and prayer during a period of drought was changed to one of Thanksgiving because the rain came during their prayers. The custom prevailed in New England and eventually became a national holiday.

We seldom hear the story of one woman's 36-year campaign to have Thanksgiving declared a national holiday. Sarah Josepha Hale, editor of the popular Godey's Lady's Book with a circulation of 150,000 finally persuaded President Lincoln in the midst of the civil war in 1863 to establish the holiday.

Why is it that sometimes people are more thankful with little than we are with much?

Body

I. We need to remember always that God is our Great Provider.

(Deu 8:7-20 NKJV) "For the LORD your God is bringing you into a good land, a land of brooks of water, of fountains and springs, that flow out of valleys and hills; 8 "a land of wheat and barley, of vines and fig trees and pomegranates, a land of olive oil and honey; 9 "a land in which you will eat bread without scarcity, in which you will lack nothing; a land whose stones are iron and out of whose hills you can dig copper. 10 "When you have eaten and are full, then you shall bless the LORD your God for the good land which He has given you. 11 "Beware that you do not forget the LORD your God by not keeping His commandments, His judgments, and His statutes which I command you today, 12 "lest; when you have eaten and are full, and have built beautiful houses and dwell in them; 13 "and when your herds and your flocks multiply, and your silver and your gold are multiplied, and all that you have is multiplied; 14 "when your heart is lifted up, and you forget the LORD your God who brought you out of the land of Egypt, from the house of bondage; 15 "who led you through that great and terrible wilderness, in which were fiery serpents and scorpions and thirsty land where there was no water; who brought water for you out of the flinty rock; 16 "who fed you in the wilderness with manna, which your fathers did not know, that He might humble you and that He might test you, to do you good in the end; 17 "then you say in your heart, 'My power and the might of my hand have gained me this wealth.' 18 "And you shall remember the LORD your God, for it is He who gives you power to get wealth, that He may establish His covenant which He swore to your fathers, as it is this day. 19 "Then it shall be, if you by any means forget the LORD your God, and follow other gods, and serve them and worship them, I testify against you this day that you shall surely perish. 20 "As the nations which the LORD destroys before you, so you shall perish, because you would not be obedient to the voice of the LORD your God.

A. Sometimes we fail to recognize the great things God has given us.

"Count your blessings!" That is excellent counsel, but sometimes we have to recognize them first!

A man who owned a small estate wished to sell it. Sending for a real estate agent, he asked him to write an advertisement describing the house and land.

When the ad was ready, the agent took it to the owner and read it to him. "Read that again," said the owner.

The agent read the description of the estate once more. "I don't think I will sell after all," said the owner. "I have been looking for an estate like that all my life, and I did not know that I owned it!"

Count your blessings -- yes, but start by asking God to open your eyes to see your possessions in Christ. Begin by recognizing all that you have in Christ. That will change your entire perspective and enable you to praise God for what you have.

II. God expects His children to be thankful to Him.

(1 Th 5:18 NKJV) "in everything give thanks; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you."

A. Our Lord made notes of those who were thankful and those who were not.

(Luke 17:12-19 NKJV) "Then as He entered a certain village, there met Him ten men who were lepers, who stood afar off. {13} And they lifted up their voices and said, "Jesus, Master, have mercy on us!" {14} So when He saw them, He said to them, "Go, show yourselves to the priests." And so it was that as they went, they were cleansed. {15} And one of them, when he saw that he was healed, returned, and with a loud voice glorified God, {16} and fell down on his face at His feet, giving Him thanks. And he was a Samaritan. {17} So Jesus answered and said, "Were there not ten cleansed? But where are the nine? {18} "Were there not any found who returned to give glory to God except this foreigner?" {19} And He said to him, "Arise, go your way. Your faith has made you well.""

B. We need to remember that God is the source of all the good that we have.

(James 1:16-17 NKJV) "Do not be deceived, my beloved brethren. {17} Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, and comes down from the Father of lights, with whom there is no variation or shadow of turning."

C. On several occasions, Paul reminded us to be thankful.

(1 Th 5:18 NKJV) "in everything give thanks; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you."

1. I am not one of those who believes that we should thank God for everything that comes into our lives, but something interesting happened in the life of Corrie Ten Boon

Corrie Ten Boom in The Hiding Place relates an incident which taught her this principle. She and her sister, Betsy, had just been transferred to the worst German prison camp they had seen yet, Ravensbruck. Upon entering the barracks, they found them extremely overcrowded and flea-infested. Their Scripture reading that morning in 1 Thessalonians had reminded them to rejoice always, pray constantly, and give thanks in all circumstances. Betsy told Corrie to stop and thank the Lord for every detail of their new living quarters. Corrie at first flatly refused to give thanks for the fleas, but Betsy persisted. She finally succumbed. During the months spent at that camp, they were surprised to find how openly they could hold Bible study and prayer meetings without guard interference. It was several months later when they learned that the guards would not enter the barracks because of the fleas.

2. Her case is an illustration of another passage of scripture that is seometimes hard for us to always appreciate.

(Rom 8:28 NKJV) And we know that all things work together for good to those who love God, to those who are the called according to His purpose.

(Eph 5:20 NKJV) "giving thanks always for all things to God the Father in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ,"

(Phil 4:6 NKJV) "Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication, with thanksgiving, let your requests be made known to God;"

D. And the Hebrew writer also reminds us of the importance of thanksgiving as a part of our Christian lives.

(Heb 13:15 NKJV) "Therefore by Him let us continually offer the sacrifice of praise to God, that is, the fruit of our lips, giving thanks to His name."

E. The Psalms remind us to be thankful to God.

(Psa 92:1-2 NKJV) It is good to give thanks to the LORD, And to sing praises to Your name, O Most High; {2} To declare Your lovingkindness in the morning, And Your faithfulness every night,

III. Thanksgiving should be an attitude for us.

A. We need to watch the attitudes that are expressed in the songs that we sing.

We can sing "Count your many blessing," or we can sing "Tempted and tried we'er oft made to wonder."

We can express praise and thanksgiving, or we can express grumbling and doubt.

B. God has given us everything. How often do we truly express our gratitude and appreciation.

Conclusion

I. This Thursday has been set aside as a National day of Thanksgiving.

Will we remember to thank God on this special day?

Will we thank God everyday?

II. Do we live with an attitude of gratitude for all the good things God has given us?

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