Living a Life of Thanksgiving
Living a Life of Thanksgiving
Psalm 100
1. The Expression of a Thankful Heart
Shout for joy to the LORD, all the earth. Worship the LORD with gladness; come before him with joyful songs.
Psalm 100:1-2 NIV
2. The Conviction of a Thankful Heart
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.
Psalm 100:3 NIV
3. The Progression of a Thankful Heart
Enter his gates with thanksgiving and his courts with praise; give thanks to him and praise his name.
Psalm 100:4 NIV
4. The Confession of a Thankful Heart
For the LORD is good and his love endures forever; his faithfulness continues through all generations.
Psalm 100:5
A Question to Consider:
Are you living a life of thanksgiving?
A Verse to Remember:
Give thanks in all circumstances, for this is God's will for you in Christ Jesus.
1 Thessalonians 5:18 NIV
Welcome…
Someone has described Thanksgiving like this….
In this holiday we grab a turkey, pluck it, stuff it, bake it with all the side fixings, put it on the table, bless it, eat it, and then go watch football with the Detroit Lions traditionally losing (but who cares, because we are usually so full that we fall asleep), we nibble here and nibble there …
and then eat turkey “manna” for the next several days to finally discard the carcass.
Isn’t that the thanksgiving holiday in essence?
For many people that describes Thanksgiving….
But is that really thanksgiving?
Every Thanksgiving is a time for me to do a reality check…Am I a thankful person?
When it comes to Thanksgiving: Is it a way of life…or is it just an opportunity to take a day off and eat a lot of food and watch football?
We need to understand that Thanksgiving is the will of God for our lives…
Give thanks in all circumstances, for this is God's will for you in Christ Jesus. 1 Thes 5:18 NIV
A 4 year old boy was asked to return thanks before Thanksgiving dinner.
The family members bowed their heads in expectation.
He began his prayer, thanking the Lord for all his friends, naming them one by one.
Then he thanked the Lord for Mommy, Daddy, brother, sister, Grandma, Grandpa, and all his Aunts and Uncles.
Then he began to thank the Lord for the food.
He gave thanks for the turkey, the dressing, the fruit salad, the cranberry sauce, the pies, the cakes, even the cool whip.
Then he paused, and everyone waited….and waited.
After a long silence, the young fellow looked up at his mother and asked, “If I thank the Lord for the broccoli, won’t He know that I’m lying?”
Like that little boy we need to learn to…even thank the Lord for the broccoli!!!!
Give thanks in all circumstances, for this is God's will for you in Christ
Today I want us to look at Psalm 100…
In Psalm 100 we see what it looks like to Live a Life of Thanksgiving….
Notice…
1. The Expression of a Thankful Heart
The psalmist says…
Shout for joy to the LORD, all the earth. Worship the LORD with gladness; come before him with joyful songs.
Psalm 100:1-2 NIV
How many of you were shouting for Joy yesterday afternoon??
We get excited about the Buckeyes, don’t we?
· 4 straight wins over Michigan…
· 2nd outright Big Ten Championship
· Going to the Rose Bowl, Possibly the BCS National Championship Bowl??
Have you ever shouted for joy to the Lord??
We don’t have problems getting excited about a football game, but we very seldom get excited in church.
I remember a few years ago when some of you got shook up here in church.
I was preaching and….One guy was so moved that morning that he let out a shout.
He just yelled out in the middle of the service…. Amen, Amen, Amen….Yes Preacher!!!
It shook some of you up…Good!
Our lives are meant to be a joyful call to God.
God wants us to get excited about who He is.
When I think of shouting for Joy to the Lord…I think of Ray Glenn the man who often said shouted…
Amen, Amen, Amen….Yes Preacher!!!
What joy he had for the Lord!!!
The expression of a thankful heart is marked by joy…
Shout for joy to the LORD, all the earth. Worship the LORD with gladness; come before him with joyful songs.
Psalm 100:1-2 NIV
As the Psalmist reminds us…no one is exempt…notice the phrase all the earth…
Express yourself by…
· Shouting for joy to the LORD, all the earth
To make a joyful shout is more than hollering or screaming ... the emphasis is upon what we are shouting about ... the psalmist is speaking of making an open air confession.
In fact the Hebrew word means "an extension of the hand."
It is as if the psalmist is saying to cup the hand to the mouth and speak out loud a very joyful confession to the Lord.
I can’t hold it in…I’ve got to praise Him!!!
Express yourself by…
· Worshiping the LORD with gladness
Worship the Lord…declare his worth with a glad and grateful heart.
Express yourself by…
· Coming before the Lord with joyful songs
As believers we are to come into His presence with our hearts filled with the joy and gladness of knowing Him.
We are to come singing with joyful voices of praise and thanksgiving.
Ephesians 5:19-20 says,
19 Speak to one another with psalms, hymns and spiritual songs. Sing and make music in your heart to the Lord, 20 always giving thanks to God the Father for everything, in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ.
Eph 5:19-20 NIV
Think about this the next time we sing . . . listen to yourself sing.
How would you measure it? Thankful or thankless?
Didn’t say anything about singing in key… Sing and make music in your heart to the Lord …
Several years ago…men’s choir….singing I Walk By Faith…the example of Ray…dancing and singing!!
If we live ego centered or self centered lives we will never express to God how thankful we are??
Assessment…1-5
Assess yourself when it comes to the picture you see in vv. 1-2 of a thankful heart…
What is the expression of your heart?
Do people see a Grateful heart or a grumbling heart??
Adjustment…
Shout for joy to the LORD, all the earth. Worship the LORD with gladness; come before him with joyful songs.
Psalm 100:1-2 NIV
In Psalm 100 we see what it looks like to Live a Life of Thanksgiving….
Notice…
2. The Conviction of a Thankful Heart
The psalmist says…
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.
Psalm 100:3 NIV
In one of Charles Schulz’s Peanuts classics, Linus tells Charlie Brown about his dad’s basketball career in high school.
Linus notes, “He said he can’t remember ever losing a game.”
Charlie Brown is very impressed and says, “They must have had a great team.”
Linus replies with reality, “No, he has a terrible memory!”
Sometimes we have a terrible memory…
We forget who God is and what He has done…
This isn’t the case with psalmist…
We need to remember…
Know that the LORD is God.
The word know is used in the sense of experiencing and being completely assured of the truth.
What is your conviction regarding God?
How we perceive God ... who He is and what He is doing will make or break our spirit of thanksgiving.
· A conviction about God's Authority ... He is God
The first conviction we see is God's authority.
He is the only true God…
The psalmist states emphatically, "He is God!" Any questions?
David says in 1 Chronicles 17:20
"There is no one like you, O LORD, and there is no God but you, as we have heard with our own ears.
1 Chron 17:20 NIV
Whose authority are you under today?
Your own, someone else's, or God's?
How you answer shows who God is in your life.
· A conviction about God's Authorship ... He who made us
From authority to authorship the psalmist uses the positive and negative . . . God is our Maker!
We cannot make ourselves!
There are no "self made" men, only those who refuse to recognize God as Creator.
- A proud man is seldom a grateful man, for he never thinks he gets as much as he deserves." (Henry Ward Beecher)
· A conviction about God's Assurance ... We are His people
When we live recognizing God's authority and authorship in our lives we live in the assurance of knowing we are His people.
Thanksgiving tends to place itself in the realm of the material objects of our lives . . . food, clothes, houses, cars, etc.
These things are temporary and could be lost in a moments time.
We should be thankful for those things, but our thanksgiving must reach into the assurance of the things we cannot lose.
Eternal life . . . John 10:28
Forgiveness . . . 1 John 1:9
Access to God through Prayer . . . Hebrews 4:15-16
God's presence . . . Hebrews 13:5
Assessment…1-5
Assess yourself when it comes to the picture you see in v. 3 of a thankful heart…
What is the conviction of your heart?
Do you see God as the psalmist sees Him??
If not, you need to make an adjustment…and say like the psalmist…
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.
Psalm 100:3 NIV
In Psalm 100 we see what it looks like to Live a Life of Thanksgiving….
Notice…
3. The Progression of a Thankful Heart
Enter his gates with thanksgiving and his courts with praise; give thanks to him and praise his name.
Psalm 100:4 NIV
The psalmist shows us that the state of thanksgiving in our hearts and lives has a progression to it.
We will move forward step by step in order to give thanks to God.
Just as we say it is unnatural for a non-Christian to express thanks to God, so it is spiritually unnatural for a Christian not to thank God.
The believer is to “enter into His gates with thanksgiving, and into His courts with praise. Be thankful to Him, and bless His name” (Psalm 100:4).
In the context of the Old Testament tabernacle and temple, praise and gratitude were so integral to worship that certain priests were assigned the task of leading the worshippers in giving thanks.
They wanted to make sure it didn’t get overlooked
Gratitude and thanksgiving were important parts not only of formal Old Testament worship but of the lives of individual saints as well.
Daniel was a man who, while in exile in Babylon, “knelt down on his knees three times...and prayed and gave thanks before his God, as was his custom since early days” (Daniel 6:10).
And the same seems to have been true among the New Testament saints.
Paul not only gave thanks continually (Philippians 1:3) but exhorted the church to do so as well (I Thessalonians 5:18; Hebrews 13:15).
One way to know whether or not we are growing in the Lord has to do with this idea of gratitude…
If we are growing our lives will be moving forward with a thankful heart.
If we are obedient, Spirit-filled Christians, we will be grateful and express our thanks to God continually— not just on special occasions but as a way of life.
Someone wrote this…
I am Thankful for.........
· the taxes I pay because it means I’m employed.
· the clothes that fit a little too snug
because it means I have enough to eat.
· a lawn that needs mowing, windows that need cleaning and
gutters that need fixing because it means I have a home.
· the spot I find at the far end of the parking lot because it means I am capable of walking.
· my huge heating bill because it means I am warm.
· the lady behind me in church who sings off key because it means that I can hear.
· the piles of laundry and ironing because it means my loved ones are nearby.
· the alarm that goes off in the early morning hours because it means that I’m alive.
· weariness and aching muscles at the end of the day because it means I have been productive.
Maturity realizes everything Good is from God
We are to “enter into His gates with thanksgiving, and into His courts with praise. Be thankful to Him, and bless His name.”
In the O.T. the temple symbolized the presence of God.
So whenever the people came to the temple & entered the courtyards they knew that they had come into the presence of God.
Gratitude is a doorway that admits us into the courts of God’s presence.
Focusing inward on our misery traps us in our own private dungeon, and we lock ourselves away from those richer interiors that provide the healing and wisdom we need.
Gratitude is the key that unlocks the door….
The psalms challenge us to come into His presence with thanksgiving.
Assessment…1-5
Assess yourself when it comes to the picture you see in v. 4 of a thankful heart…
Is their a progression to your life…have you discovered the key of gratitude that unlocks the door to experiencing God in His fullness?
Do you see God as the psalmist sees Him??
If not, you need to make an adjustment…and say like the psalmist…
Enter his gates with thanksgiving and his courts with praise; give thanks to him and praise his name.
Psalm 100:4 NIV
In Psalm 100 we see what it looks like to Live a Life of Thanksgiving….
Notice…
4. The Confession of a Thankful Heart
Someone has said,
The worst moment for an atheist comes when he is really thankful and has no one to thank.
- Unknown
But notice the confession of grateful believer,
For the LORD is good and his love endures forever; his faithfulness continues through all generations.
Psalm 100:5 NIV
· The confession of grateful believer is… God is Good ...
God is good all the time! All the time God is good!
God cannot help but be good! His loving acts toward mankind are always wrapped in His goodness and love. God is good!
· The confession of grateful believer is…God is Merciful ... His mercy is everlasting
Christ is God's mercy to man! Think about that a moment.
Let it sink in our hearts and lives and it will be geared our hearts to giving thanks to God for His everlasting mercy that is directed to us today and will be in the tomorrow and into eternity!
· The confession of grateful believer is God is Truthful ... His truth endures to all generations
God doesn't lie. What He tells us today will be true tomorrow and into all generations.
It was true for the psalmist who penned these words and it is true to you and I who read these words.
You see, Thanksgiving is the theme song of the Christian…and it affects every area of our lives…
Thankful Christians walk around grateful for every breath, every sunset, every new morning, every color in the color spectrum, and every star in the sky.
Like an alcoholic who is clean and sober, noticing beauty and taste for the first time, we are grateful just to be alive because we have been dead for so long.
It's hard to think of one vice that the virtue of thankfulness cannot render useless.
One does not need to steal when one is thankful.
A man does not covet his neighbor's wife when he is thankful for his own.
No one craves more when he is grateful for what he has.
In the same way, a thankful heart cancels out pride and arrogance.
No need to judge other people when you are thankful for who you are.
No need to measure yourself by and compare yourself to others when you are thankful for what God has done in your life.
No need to keep anyone out of the kingdom of God when you're overwhelmed that you got in.
(God can let in anyone He wants. I am simply glad to be counted among the saved.)
You don't care if you get the important seat at the table when you are overcome with gratitude at simply being invited to the dinner.
You don't put heavy weights on other people's shoulders when you are thankful that God has lightened your own load.
You are not obsessed with what other people think of you when you are overwhelmed with the fact that God is thinking about you all the time.
You don't demand respect when you are thankful for your place.
You don't have to hide your own sin when you are already thankful for God's forgiveness.
You don't have to protect your image when you are already number one with God.
You don't have to condemn other people's blindness when it's only the grace of God that has allowed you to see.
You don't have to try for the highest place when you are already grateful for whatever place you were given.
You don't have to make a show of spirituality when you are thankful for having received the Spirit.
You don't have to clothe yourself in holy robes when you have been already clothed in righteousness.
You don't have to be full of yourself when you are thankful that God has filled you up with Himself.
That is the confession of a grateful heart…
Not only do we have a lot to be thankful for, our thankfulness can accomplish much.
Assessment…1-5
Assess yourself when it comes to the picture you see in v. 5 of a thankful heart…
What is the confession of your heart?
Do you see God as the psalmist sees Him??
If not, you need to make an adjustment…and say like the psalmist…
For the LORD is good and his love endures forever; his faithfulness continues through all generations.
Psalm 100:5 NIV
Concl:
[insert story about Ray]
Alex Haley, the author of "Roots," had an unusual picture hanging on his office wall.
It was a picture of a turtle on top of a fence post.
When asked, "Why is that there?"
Alex Haley answered, "Every time I write something significant, every time I read my words and think that they are wonderful, and begin to feel proud of myself, I look at the turtle on top of the fence post and remember that he didn't get there on his own... He had help."
That is the basis of thankfulness - to remember that we got here with the help of God, and that He is the provider of every blessing we have.
The basis of our thanksgiving is the Lord.
A Question to Consider:
Are you living a life of thanksgiving?
A Verse to Remember:
Give thanks in all circumstances, for this is God's will for you in Christ Jesus.
1 Thessalonians 5:18 NIV
RFTP sermon
Conclusion
Let me put this entire psalm into a perspective with this story.
Take Your Goat into the Room With You
In Budapest, a man goes to the rabbi and complains, “Life is unbearable. There are nine of us living in one room. What can I do?” The rabbi answers, “Take your goat into the room with you.” The man in incredulous, but the rabbi insists. “Do as I say and come back in a week.” A week later the man comes back looking more distraught than before. “We cannot stand it,” he tells the rabbi. “The goat is filthy.” The rabbi then tells him, “Go home and let the goat out. And come back in a week.” A radiant man returns to the rabbi a week later, exclaiming, “Life is beautiful. We enjoy every minute of it now that there's no goat—only the nine of us.”
Will you be a John Henry . . . one who fills the table and room with a bountiful supply of thanksgiving? Be thankful!
Amen!
But consider this …though your life may not be all you want it to be … most of the time it is more life than others have.
· If you have food in the refrigerator, clothes on your back, a roof overhead and a place to sleep, you are richer than 75% of this world.
· If you have money in the bank, in your wallet, and spare change in a dish someplace, you are among the top 8% of the world’s wealthy.
· If you woke up this morning with more health than illness, you are more blessed than the million who will not survive this week
If you can attend church meetings without fear of harassment, arrest, torture, or death, you are more blessed than three billion in the world.
Intro:
Welcome….
Home > Teens > How I See It
Top 15 Reasons to Be Thankful on Thanksgiving
November 22, 2000
During Thanksgiving, we're always asked what we're thankful for. So in honor of turkey day, I compiled a list of 15 reasons to be thankful. If you have anything ya wanna add to the list, be sure to let me know!
I am thankful …
15. That someone else kills the turkey and removes those nasty gizzard things from their bodies.
14. That peanut butter-and-jelly sandwiches are always a safe stand-by when Uncle Dave's trying to cook the turkey in the microwave.
13. For conversation about a bunch of distant relatives you don't know, but you don't care 'cuz the food's so good.
12. For a family that loves you, even if Aunt Dorothy can't stop pinching your cheeks and exclaiming, "My how you've grown!"
11. That Thanksgiving is the one time you can eat for 8 hours straight, feel like ya gotta be rolled away from the table, but you keep right on eating.
10. For the crazy relatives who make you laugh right after you put mashed potatoes in your mouth just so they can watch you blow them out your nose.
9. For getting two days of school off—even though your teachers gave you so much homework, you'll never get it done by New Year's.
8. That this is the one time you don't have to sit next to your little brother who talks with his mouth full—he'll sit across from you instead.
7. For that one food dish you never quite know what it is.
6. For finally graduating from the "kids' table" to the "adults' table." (I graduated a few years ago.)
5. That there's always a football game to snooze through, despite the fact you're sharing a love seat with five of your relatives.
4. For hearing Grandpa pray.
3. That black olives, a.k.a. finger puppets, can add entertainment to any meal.
2. For washing your dishes—and those of 14 other relatives.
And the number 1 reason to be thankful on Thanksgiving …
1. That God loves us so much, he gave us a family to love, a turkey to eat, and a Son to save our souls.
The thirsty person who is given half a glass of water can complain that it’s not a full glass or be grateful it is no less than half full.
It’s a matter of perspective and of choice.
Learning to give thanks in all things is a life-changing, and heart altering, exercise.
Just this past week I saw the film clip of the victory celebration in New York City when World War II ended. Folks, that celebration was a shout of praise.
The war was over – the victory had been won. We need to shout praises to God – I have read the end of the Book – I know who wins the war – I know who has victory – Praise be to God on high! I need to shout joyfully because God has won the victory. We need to be filled with joy and shout about it.
RFTP sermon
Taking a quick look about it might be easy to see the world as becoming ungrateful and in a bad mood all the time. Words like please and thank you seem to be heard less and less. However it is not just the world at large that has become thankless . . . how about you? Is thanksgiving a holiday thing or a principle thing in your life?
For John Henry it was a principle thing . . . you could see on his face and hear in his voice he lived with giving thanks to God.
The psalmist speaks of the principles of thanksgiving. Principles are eternal and therefore they never change with the culture or circumstances we might happen to find ourselves in. Regardless the principle are to rule our voice and conduct before the Lord and others.
Thanksgiving takes on a note of praise. The words of John Henry gave proof that our praising God is a privilege both public and private. The private or personal invades to enhance the public and the public praising creates a host for personal praise.
3a. Public Praise ... Enter into His gates
Corporate worship is the time we enter into the gates ... the opening of praising God. What is your attitude in worship . . . get it over or I can't get over it? Are you thankful the service is over or are you thankful to be serving? Public praise worship is the real barometer of our personal worship of God. The heart and voice attitude is . . . "We praise You God!"
3b. Personal Praise ... And into His courts
The gates made entry into the presence and the courts lend themselves to our private or personal times of praising God. Do you have those times? The personal worship impacts the public. The heart and voice attitude is . . . "I praise You God!"
3c. Privileged Praise ... Be thankful and bless His name
If our hearts are geared to the public and private arenas of praise we will discover the privilege of praise.
Warren Wiersbe states, "I have felt for a long time that one of the particular temptations of the maturing Christian is the danger of getting accustomed to his blessings. Like the world traveler who has been everywhere and seen everything, the maturing Christian is in danger of taking his blessings for granted and getting so accustomed to them that they fail to excite him as they once did."
Emerson said if the stars came out only once a year, we would all want to stay up and see them. But because we see the stars all the time we don't take the time to look at them.
Why did only one cleansed leper return to praise and give thanks to Jesus?
One waited to see if the cure was real.
One waited to see if it would last.
One said he would see Jesus later.
One decided that he had never had leprosy.
One said he would have gotten well anyway.
One gave the glory to the priests.
One said, "O, well, Jesus didn't really do anything."
One said, "Any rabbi could have done it."
One said, "I was already much improved."
(George Mikes, "How to be Decadent")
Do they sound like us? Have we become accustomed to God's blessings? The progression of our thanksgiving will lead us to see it as a privilege in both public and personal praise.
What's your conviction about God and are you doing what He asks you to do with a thankful heart?
"Pride slays Thanksgiving, but a humble mind is the soil out of which thanks naturally grow.
The truth is … we are getting more than we deserve!