Thanksgiving

(Sermons, List 4)

Text:  Psalms 92:1-4. {1} It is good to give thanks to the LORD, And to sing praises to Your name, O Most High;  {2} To declare Your loving kindness in the morning, And Your faithfulness every night,  {3} On an instrument of ten strings, On the lute, And on the harp, With harmonious sound. {4} For You, LORD, have made me glad through Your work; I will triumph in the works of Your hands. (NKJV).

Introduction:

R. E. Marino once said,  "Thanksgiving is when one species ceases to gobble and another begins."  And it’s true; many of us gobble up on turkey at this season. However, Thanksgiving Day is about more than just eating. This holiday reminds us of God's continuous provision throughout the year. For Christians at least, thanksgiving should be a way of life. We should thank God daily for blessings already received and trust Him for more as needed.

Perhaps you can recall a past blessing that did not seem to be one at the time? Those kinds of blessings are much easier to recognize as such after a trial of our faith has ended. Not that our trials are unique. Lots of people have faced similar ones successfully. And more of them might have done so if they had trusted God sufficiently.

Serve God

God knows us and He understands our weaknesses. Look at Psalm 103. “As a father pities <his> children, <So> the LORD pities those who fear Him.  For He knows our frame; He remembers that we <are> dust But the mercy of the LORD <is> from everlasting to everlasting On those who fear Him, And His righteousness to children's children, To such as keep His covenant, And to those who remember His commandments to do them.” (Psalm 103:13-14 & 17-18).

Jesus told His disciples,  {24} "If anyone desires to come after Me, let him deny himself, and take up his [cross, and follow Me]. {25} "For whoever desires to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for My sake will find it. {26} "For what profit is it to a man if he gains the whole world, and loses his own soul?  Or what will a man give in exchange for his soul?  (Matthew 16:24-26). That passage reminds us of crosses we may need to bear while following our Lord. While they may be difficult to endure, the blessings of obedience can be invaluable. And, as Romans 8 indicates, we can expect greater blessings in eternity: “For I reckon that the sufferings of this present time are not worthy to be compared with the glory which shall be revealed in us.” (Romans 8:18).

God loves us

No matter how insurmountable they may seem, all of our earthly problems are temporary. They only come to pass; none of them can bother us forever. But the joy of living in a vital relationship with Jesus Christ is eternal.  He never withdraws His love and it gets better as we age. Leila N. Morris described it this way:

“Of Jesus’ love that sought me, when I was lost in sin;
Of wondrous grace that brought me back to His fold again;
Of heights and depths of mercy, far deeper than the sea,
And higher than the heavens, my theme shall ever be. Sweeter as the years go by, sweeter as the years go by, Richer, fuller, deeper, Jesus’ love is sweeter, Sweeter as the years go by. (1912 Hymn)

Things only?

Most people think of thanksgiving in terms of gratitude for material blessings that can be seen and felt. But God gives and sustains life itself. It is “in him” that “we live, and move, and have our being;) (Acts 17: 28-29). God does not always display His love through gifts of things either. He may use people to show us His love through simple acts of human kindness. In that vein, always be alert to the possibility that God might want to use you to bless someone else. Matthew 10:42 indicates your cooperation can earn rewards you won’t lose.

No free rides

Nothing is free in this life; everything must be paid for in one way or another. When someone gets a "free ride, it's always at the expense of someone else. Did you earn your salvation?  No. It was free to you – but only because Jesus paid for it with His blood. So let His generosity to you encourage generosity in you. Unfortunately, many people either don't understand that need as it applies to others or they choose, intentionally, to ignore Paul’s comments at Troas, where He said:  “I have shown you in every way, by laboring like this, that you must support the weak. And remember the words of the Lord Jesus, that He said, “It is more blessed to give than to receive.” (Acts 20:35).

Free enterprise

The United States of America has the greatest form of man controlled government ever. Part of its greatness is due to free enterprise, where men can prosper through their own industry. Careful study of American History reveals instances where God intervened in the affairs of this Nation in order to arrange the way of life we enjoy. One instance involved the pilgrims at Plymouth, Massachusetts, at the time of their first Thanksgiving dinner. It is noted today by the furnishings in a reconstructed village there. Robert Cunningham described some of those furnishings in the “Pentecostal Evangel" several years ago.  I'll mention two of them, a Bible and five grains of corn.

The Bible

The first thing Cunningham noticed was the Bible. It was not the King James Version. The Pilgrims did not use it in 1620. Although it was published in 1611 it may not have been available to the Pilgrims when they went to Holland before emigrating to America. They did have access to it later - but they viewed it with as much suspicion as many people view other translations of the Bible today.

Perhaps you've heard someone say, perhaps in jest, “If the King James Version was good enough for the Apostle Paul, it's good enough for me?” I have mixed feelings on the subject. It seems foolish to ignore the work of honest scholars but some versions appear to be mistranslated intentionally and should be avoided. However, other translations are good, especially where 1611 KJV words, which are either no longer popular or have changed in meaning, have been replaced.

Thank God for the privilege of using updated translations and enjoy those you can. I’ve read at least ten versions (some more than once) since 1964 and found most of them helpful for my purposes. But I usually recommend only two for most readers: “The NKJV,” published by Thomas Nelson, and “The Holy Bible In The Language Of Today,” by William F. Beck. If you want to study the Bible and don’t have a good concordance, try “The Amplified Bible” published by Zondervan in 1965, or “The Comparative Study Bible,” also published by Zondervan.

Five grains of corn

       The other thing I'll mention from Cunningham's list is a dining table set with five kernels of parched corn on each plate. That food supply does not describe our Thanksgiving tables of today. We might have five different kinds, or more, of deserts alone available to us. The Pilgrims food supply was nearly gone by 1620 so it was rationed. Each person was limited to five grains of corn daily because “free riders” did not produce anything for the community. (Governor Bradford's History of the Plymouth Bay Colony).

The pilgrims were communists. They pooled their resources and shared them, expecting everyone to prosper as they worked together for the common good. They may have gotten their idea from the Book of Acts in the New Testament. And it may have sounded like a good one at the time. But communism doesn't work. It didn’t in the 1^st Century and it doesn’t today. It’s unnatural and it destroys initiative. 

Men usually don't work harder than necessary when they can’t accumulate something for themselves. Some quit altogether when they discover they don't need to work. Governor Bradford said the Pilgrims were saved from starvation only when they turned to free enterprise, where everyone was free either to work for himself or to do without. That is Biblical too, you know. Saint Paul said, “For even when we were with you, this we commanded you, that if any would not work, neither should he eat.” (2^nd Thessalonians 3:10).

Quotes

Henry Hazlitt quotes Governor Bradford of the Plymouth Bay Colony in a publication called DATELINE: "So the colonists began to think how they might raise as much corn as they could, and obtain a better crop than they had done, that they might not still thus languish in misery. At length (in 1625) after much debate of things, the Gov. (with advice of the cheefest amongst them) gave way that they should set corn every man for his own perticuler, and in that regard trust to them selves . . . and so assigned to every family a parcell of land . . . This had a very good success; for it made all hands very industrious, so as much more corn was planted than other wise would have been, by any means the Gov. or any other could use, and saved him a great deal of trouble, and gave far better content.  The experience that was had in this common course and condition, tried sundrie years, and that amongst Godly and sober men, may well evince the vanity of that conceit of Platos and other ancients, applauded by some of later times; - that the taking away of property, and bringing in communities into a common wealth, would make them happy and flourishing; as if they were wiser than God. For this community (so far as it was) was found to breed much confusion and discontent, and retard much employment that would have been to their benefit and comfort . . . By this time harvest was come, and instead of famine, now God gave them plenty, and the face of things was changed, to the rejoysing of the harts of many, for which they blessed God. And the effect of their perticular (private) planting was well seen, for all had, one way and other, pretty well to bring the year about, and some of the abler sorte and more industrious had to spare, and sell to others, so as any general want or famine hath not been amongst them since to this day." Undoubtedly, this was a hidden blessing. God allowed the Pilgrims to experience extreme want - for their benefit and for ours. Free enterprise has made our country prosper.

Current threats 

Actually, our system is under attack again, not only from within but also from without. Consider present day citizen freeloaders and the politicians who waste our resources catering to them for their votes. Consider illegal immigrants who ignore our laws, abuse our property, and enjoy public services they don’t pay for. And consider legal immigrants who do not respect our culture and are determined to subjugate us to their own. Those problems are very bad, probably much worse than the average person realizes. But they do not stand-alone. Our foreign aid programs, which bought us no friends and made the world hate us, should be discontinued.

It’s ludicrous to give our hard-earned tax dollars to third-rate countries - where needy people are not helped because fat, lazy, selfish dictators consume it on their own lusts. And it’s stupid to fund special interest groups anywhere who hate us, including the ACLU (which steals our freedoms), Planned Parenthood (which aids and abets baby killers), the NEA (which insists on teaching nonsense to our children), and The United Nations,” (which is united only in it’s intent to destroy our Republic).

All of those groups are, intentionally or otherwise, undermining our God-ordained way of life, and will see it fall altogether unless we recognize the threats and begin to fight back. If you want to see the downward spiral reversed, ask Jehovah God, seriously and constantly, to save the heathen among us, including activist judges and other misguided political and social activists.  

Thank Him anyway

In the mean time, thank God anyway. He often hides precious gifts in experiences that are less than pleasant. If we turn to Him again, with honest confession and sincere repentance, perhaps He will hear our prayers and heal our land once more. (2^nd Chronicles 7:14).

It’s good to thank God for the good that has come out of evil and for the blessings that resulted from trials we had to endure. Be grateful too for trials that make us grow, for defeats that keep us humble, for losses that make us cautious, and for dangers that keep us alert.

Perhaps you faced a personal situation recently where your world seemed to come apart?  Perhaps things looked so bad you did not expect to escape with your life? But you did survive. And when the smoke cleared you discovered God was there, working on your behalf all the time? Hopefully you learned valuable lessons that will help you stand firm, with real faith in God's word and with real hope for whatever future He provides. God is in charge of the Christian's affairs. And, when we are properly submitted to Him, our times are in His hands.

Another poem

Someone wrote a poem that reminds us of other things we can be thankful for.  I’ll condense it a bit: "Count your blessings instead of your crosses; your gains instead of your losses; your joys instead of your woes; your friends instead of your foes; your smiles instead of your tears; your courage instead of your fears; your full years instead of your lean; your kind deeds instead of your mean; your health instead of your wealth; and on God instead of yourself."

God is faithful.  He can be counted on to do everything He promised. And He will deliver His own to His home in glory eventually. Until then we should maintain confidence in His love and goodness, day by day, knowing He cares for us and He provides for His own. Let's be faithful to Him by loving Him as He first loved us and by keeping His commandments - including the ones that command us to love others as we love ourselves.

- - -

 

David E. Beneze, Salida, CO, 19 November 2006. See Pentecostal Evangel for 11/80, and Pulpit Helps for 1979.