The Art of Thankfulness
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It is easy in November to think about being Thankful and remembering all that God has done for us. Like clock work our fall decor comes out and with it comes a sense of thankfullness. You all know what I am talking about, you feel it. Thank God the elections are over and we can finally start the Holidays and with that comes a feeling of happiness. I get most happy when thinking about all the food I am going to get to eat with 0 judgement from anyone becasue they are all going to eat it too! But what is real thankfulness? Is it our words? Is it the way we sit around the table and contemplate all of the good things that God has done for us? In Psalm 100:1-5 we are introduced to the Art of Thankfulness. In this scripture this morning you will see 3 aspects of Thankfulness that must not be overlooked in the believers life. It is essential in your life and for your testemony to understand and live the Art of Thankfulness. The Art of Thankfulness in Psalm 100 starts with words. It starts with acknowleding and speaking about the things that God has done. Thankfullness though does not stay with our words, it moves into action. Thankfulness is active and it calls for us to utilize the blessings we have been given to bless others. Lastly Thankfullness results in worship. Please stand with me as we read
Make a joyful noise to the Lord, all the earth!
Serve the Lord with gladness!
Come into his presence with singing!
Know that the Lord, he is God!
It is he who made us, and we are his;
we are his people, and the sheep of his pasture.
Enter his gates with thanksgiving,
and his courts with praise!
Give thanks to him; bless his name!
For the Lord is good;
his steadfast love endures forever,
and his faithfulness to all generations.
Thankfullness starts with words
Thankfullness starts with words
Make a joyful noise to the Lord, all the earth!
Have you ever been told something good? How does it make you feel? Words have so much power. Words have the power to buld someone up, words can tear you down. Words can make you want to be the best you can be or drive you to the worst possibilty. Your words hold power. The Scripture says
With his mouth the godless man would destroy his neighbor,
but by knowledge the righteous are delivered.
A gentle tongue is a tree of life,
but perverseness in it breaks the spirit.
The words of a man’s mouth are deep waters;
the fountain of wisdom is a bubbling brook.
Words can do great good or cause great harm. The scripture in Psalm 100 tells us that we need to make a joyful noise to the Lord. We must begin with sharing with the Lord how His blessings are viewed by us. Have you told the Lord thank you lately? Have you taken time to simply put away your christmas list of a prayer and simply say Thank you? We must say Thank you to the Lord. Thankfullness starts with our words.
Flatter me, and I may not believe you. Criticize me, and I may not like you. Ignore me, and I may not forgive you. Encourage me, and I will not forget you.
William Arthur Ward.
Your words are music to the Lord’s ears. Did you know that? Did you know that it makes the Lord happy to hear you talk to him?
And this is the confidence that we have toward him, that if we ask anything according to his will he hears us.
For the eyes of the Lord are on the righteous,
and his ears are open to their prayer.
But the face of the Lord is against those who do evil.”
casting all your anxieties on him, because he cares for you.
Your word’s hold power, words matter, God wants to hear from us that we are Thankful. It is so nice to hear the words thank you.
Rylan our youngest son is a handful and as the yonugest he is also the one learning the basic life skills of saying please and thank you. Rylan has recently learned to be conpetent in saying Thank you. When he was a little younger his thank you didnt make any sense. I would say Rylan pick up your toys and he would say ok thank you. Rylan eat the rest of your dinner, ok daddy-o thank you. But now as he is learning his Thank you makes more sense. When he says thank you it has meaning and to hear it has a heart warming affect on me as a parent. The Hebrew word for thanks is Todah. That word means thanks but it also means to admit. When Rylan is saying Thank you he is admitting that he needed help. As a father it feels so good to know that my child is admitting that he needed my help. As my kids get older they need my help less and less. To hear any of them say Thank you makes me feel needed.
God wants to be needed in our lives. Thankfulness starts with the words. Say thank you! Thankfulness does not end at the words though. The words are nice but Thankfulness is shown when the blessings we are given are used.
Thankfullness calls to actions
Thankfullness calls to actions
Serve the Lord with gladness!
Come into his presence with singing!
Know that the Lord, he is God!
It is he who made us, and we are his;
we are his people, and the sheep of his pasture.
The art of Thakfullness will move us from saying Thank you to living a thankful life. Have you ever recieved a gift from someone and you said thank you but you really didnt mean it?
At work we had a Christmas party and our boss had gotten us some gifts. It was a very nice gesture on his part and we all appreciated it. I remember opening my Potty putter and my mouth said it before I could stop it. I said Thank you. I am not sure to this day why I said thank you for this gift as though I was so bored on the toilet that I needed something like this. It is literally a round carpet with a cup in it and mini golf clubs that you can use to play golf while sitting on the toilet. Non the less I said thank you. I kept the gift in the box and at the next years white elephant gifting I brought it along with me. I must admit that I lied because my boss was at the party and when he asked me if the potty putter was the one he gave me last year. I said no! I liked it so much that I got one for someone else to enjoy. I could tell he knew I was lying and he was hurt that I never used the gift.
Gifts are useless if the person never uses them. The best way to show thankfullness is to use what you have been given. You have been blessed by God with a multitude of gifts. Have you take time to consider whether you are using those gifts appropriatley? Your gifts can be anything from a spare room in your home, to money in your bank account, to extra time in your day. How are you using the gifts God has given you. The Thankfullness that David is writing about in Psalm 100:2-3 is active. Read it again
Serve the Lord with gladness!
Come into his presence with singing!
Know that the Lord, he is God!
It is he who made us, and we are his;
we are his people, and the sheep of his pasture.
Serve the Lord, Come into His presence, know the Lord is God. These are all active and they require movement. What areas of your life has God blessed you in? Are you using those blessings to bless others? Are your blessings for you? What does the Bible say about using our gifts?
As each has received a gift, use it to serve one another, as good stewards of God’s varied grace:
Having gifts that differ according to the grace given to us, let us use them: if prophecy, in proportion to our faith; if service, in our serving; the one who teaches, in his teaching; the one who exhorts, in his exhortation; the one who contributes, in generosity; the one who leads, with zeal; the one who does acts of mercy, with cheerfulness.
Blessings that cause us to say Thank you cannot end in the words Thank you but must result in lives that reflect that thankfulness. The Scripture is clear that God has called us to bless others.
And I will make of you a great nation, and I will bless you and make your name great, so that you will be a blessing.
The begenning of God’s blessing on the Israelites was so they could be a blessing to the World.
Whoever has a bountiful eye will be blessed,
for he shares his bread with the poor.
Whoever brings blessing will be enriched,
and one who waters will himself be watered.
Bless those who persecute you; bless and do not curse them.
The purpose of God’s blessings is so we can bless others and that God will be made known through the blessing of others. The Art of Thankfulness is to show that you are thankfull by using what has been given to you. Do not take the blessings God has given you and keep them for yourself. Share your blessings. The one who shares the blessings is saying and living a thankful life.
Do not neglect to do good and to share what you have, for such sacrifices are pleasing to God.
It is in your actions that God is most pleased and appreciated. If you are Thankful to God dont just say it live it. Saying Thank you and Living Thank you will result in true worship.
Thankfullness results in Worship
Thankfullness results in Worship
Enter his gates with thanksgiving,
and his courts with praise!
Give thanks to him; bless his name!
For the Lord is good;
his steadfast love endures forever,
and his faithfulness to all generations.
True Thankfulness starts with saying Thank you, it leads to living a life of blessing others with the gifts you have been given, and results in a true life of Worship to our King.
Wiliam Temple the Arch Bishop of Canterbury put it this way:
For worship is the submission of all our nature to God. It is the quickening of conscience by His holiness; the nourishment of mind with His truth; the purifying of imagination by His beauty; the opening of the heart to His love; the surrender of will to His purpose -- and all of this gathered up in adoration, the most selfless emotion of which our nature is capable and therefore the chief remedy for that self-centeredness which is our original sin and the source of all actual sin.
True Thankfullness leads to a life of Worship a true laying down of one self and a daily living to be used by the Lord. To be Thankful for the sacrifice that the Lord made for you and to be willing to be the same sacrifice for others. The greatest thing for you though is that the ultimalte sacrifice was already made. Jesus laid down His life because He lived the Art of Thankfulness to the Father. Worship is not singing songs and raising your hands to feel an emotional high. Worship is not new songs with drums and a fog machine. Worship is not Hymns and an Organ. Worship is when you are so Thankful for the gifts God has blessed you with no matter what those gifts are that you cannot help but say Thank you with a joyful noise to the Lord resulting in Thankful living and sharing of those blessings with those around us, resulting in a life of worship centered around our Father. Romans 12 sums it up about what real Worship is.
I appeal to you therefore, brothers, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to God, which is your spiritual worship.
As you prepare for Thanksgiving this year take time to conside whether or not you are truly thankful. Saying Thank you and hoarding bessings that God has given you is not true thankfulness. True Thankfullness is saying Thank you, putting the blessings into action, and living a life to honor God. Take time today to consider what blessings God has given you. Is it your time, then use it. Is it your finances, then use it. Is it having more room in your home to help others? Then use it! Whatever blessings you have been given say thank you by utilizing them to honor God.