Desperate to Give Thanks

Thanks - Giving!

This word & this holiday are literally about giving out thanks!

Let me ask you a question:

Are you constantly seeing things to complain about or seeing things to give thanks for?

Both complaining and giving thanks change us!

Both complaining and giving thanks change the atmosphere!

Complaining attracts the devil as the destroyer, but Giving Thanks attracts the attention of God.

1 Corinthians 10:10 NKJV

10 nor complain, as some of them also complained, and were destroyed by the destroyer.

Luke 17:11–19 AMP

11 As He went on His way to Jerusalem, it occurred that [Jesus] was passing [along the border] between Samaria and Galilee. 12 And as He was going into one village, He was met by ten lepers, who stood at a distance. 13 And they raised up their voices and called, Jesus, Master, take pity and have mercy on us! 14 And when He saw them, He said to them, Go [at once] and show yourselves to the priests. And as they went, they were cured and made clean. 15 Then one of them, upon seeing that he was cured, turned back, recognizing and thanking and praising God with a loud voice; 16 And he fell prostrate at Jesus’ feet, thanking Him [over and over]. And he was a Samaritan. 17 Then Jesus asked, Were not [all] ten cleansed? Where are the nine? 18 Was there no one found to return and to recognize and give thanks and praise to God except this alien? 19 And He said to him, Get up and go on your way. Your faith (your trust and confidence that spring from your belief in God) has restored you to health.

Giving Thanks doesn’t make the other person greater than they were, but giving thanks changes & improves us.

Don’t withhold thanks - Thanks heaps honor on the other.

Not giving thanks says more about our character than it does about the other person’s.

This man was so desperate to give thanks that he didn’t send a text, or get thankful in his thoughts, he desperately tracked Jesus down to give Him thanks

The Thanksgiving Offering was a sacrifice (Leviticus 7:12)!

How far out of your way do you go to Give Thanks?

Giving Thanks Beyond Words:

Radical, Hard-to-Understand Generosity is an acceptable way to express thankfulness in God’s Kingdom.

There was a woman who was so thankful for the ministry of the prophet Elisha (before he ever did anything miraculous for her) that she convinced her husband to build a special upper room for him to stay at whenever he came through their town.

People at The Ark have been so thankful for the role that this church has played in their life & Jesus’ impact they they have given extravagantly for others to be blessed.

Luke 7:36–47 NKJV

36 Then one of the Pharisees asked Him to eat with him. And He went to the Pharisee’s house, and sat down to eat. 37 And behold, a woman in the city who was a sinner, when she knew that Jesus sat at the table in the Pharisee’s house, brought an alabaster flask of fragrant oil, 38 and stood at His feet behind Him weeping; and she began to wash His feet with her tears, and wiped them with the hair of her head; and she kissed His feet and anointed them with the fragrant oil. 39 Now when the Pharisee who had invited Him saw this, he spoke to himself, saying, “This Man, if He were a prophet, would know who and what manner of woman this is who is touching Him, for she is a sinner.” 40 And Jesus answered and said to him, “Simon, I have something to say to you.” So he said, “Teacher, say it.” 41 “There was a certain creditor who had two debtors. One owed five hundred denarii, and the other fifty. 42 And when they had nothing with which to repay, he freely forgave them both. Tell Me, therefore, which of them will love him more?” 43 Simon answered and said, “I suppose the one whom he forgave more.” And He said to him, “You have rightly judged.” 44 Then He turned to the woman and said to Simon, “Do you see this woman? I entered your house; you gave Me no water for My feet, but she has washed My feet with her tears and wiped them with the hair of her head. 45 You gave Me no kiss, but this woman has not ceased to kiss My feet since the time I came in. 46 You did not anoint My head with oil, but this woman has anointed My feet with fragrant oil. 47 Therefore I say to you, her sins, which are many, are forgiven, for she loved much. But to whom little is forgiven, the same loves little.”

This thankful woman’s Thanks-giving Sacrifice Offering was premeditated.

She was so desperate to give thanks that when she knew Jesus would be at this home, she prepared her gift ahead of time and brought it.

(She probably knew she was taking a risk, that she didn’t “belong” there & that she was really going to stick out. - Heck, we don’t even know if she had been invited)

Our desperation to show thankfulness to God should stir up strategic generosity.

Proverbs 14:22 NKJV

22 Do they not go astray who devise evil? But mercy and truth belong to those who devise good.

By the way,

Everyone in the room participated in the Desperate Generosity of this woman in some way:

They saw it

They smelled it

Some despised it

Jesus defended it

Jesus received it

Entitlement steals our thankfulness

We aren’t entitled to anything - we weren’t entitled to God’s grace & mercy except for the fact that He willed them to us and set His affections on us.

“If the Lord never does anything else for me. He’s done enough.” - Beverly Crawford

Matthew 16:26 NKJV

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?

There might not be a price that we can pay for our soul, but we can sure give generously in ThanksGiving to the One who did!

Just One Thing:

Be desperate to give out the Sacrificial Offering of Thanksgiving to Jesus & to those around you in a ridiculously generous manner.