Thanksgiving Perspective

Thanksgiving Preparation

I hope that you’ve begun getting ready for Thanksgiving! In our Community Group this past week I asked what dish would be served at their homes but would be an unusual Thanksgiving dish. In addition to the usual turkey, some homes had things like lasagna and meatloaf. Some homes had stuffing and others had dressing (which weren’t all too unusual). In a diverse church like ours, I’m sure there are many unique dishes on our Thanksgiving tables.

It is time to get ready. Like our home, many of you have people coming in to visit or perhaps you are getting ready to be on the road yourself. We do all kinds of things to get ready. We go shopping (Aldi’s is promising 2019 pricing). We stock up our pantries and refrigerators. If you are planning a trip, you check the vehicle and plan your route. Others of us are making sure your business is completed so you can rest a couple extra days.

But what can we do to get our hearts ready for Thanksgiving? That is what I would like to do this morning – get our hearts filled with gratitude to God for the wonderful things He has done for us.

Thanksgiving Begins with Perspective

What do I mean by perspective? Perspective is “a specific point of view in understanding or judging things or events, esp. one that shows them in their true relations to one another” and “the ability to see things in a true relationship”. Sometimes we need to step back, put on glasses, or listen to gain better perspective. There are things that are enemies to proper perspective: proximity, fatigue, emotions.

Generally old age is considered a good vantage point for objective perspectives – What is really of value? How should I invest my time? My money? My energies? There is a particular story in the Bible that I would like to share when the main character, a guy by the name of Joshua, is about to die. He is old but he has a lot to say. As an older man “goes the way of the earth” we tend to lean in to hear what he has to say.

Joshua 23:14 NIV

“Now I am about to go the way of all the earth. You know with all your heart and soul that not one of all the good promises the Lord your God gave you has failed. Every promise has been fulfilled; not one has failed.

Here’s the truth that he drops on them. “You know with all your heart and soul that not one of all the good promises the Lord your God gave you has failed.” That is a HUGE statement. Try saying it yourself, because it is true…

You know with all your heart and soul that not one of all the good promises the Lord your God gave you has failed.

If that is not enough to inspire Thanksgiving Perspective, I don’t know what will do it for you. But it probably will make you think as well. Is this true? I’m sure that the people listening to Joshua thought the same thing but the lives of those who speak to us matter, and Joshua was a great man.

Leaning In to Hear Joshua’s Words

A National Hero Speaks

I think that it is interesting that Joshua is introduced to us only 9 days into the wilderness when there is a battle against the Amalekites. Joshua is famous for leading the men of Israel to defeat the Amalekites. He was a warrior.

When Moses went up the mountain, Joshua was by his side until Moses went into the cloud. Joshua waited and watched as Moses spoke with God. In his waiting he learned,

(Moses)… left Joshua upon the outskirts, alone in those dreadful solitudes. That was enough to take out of a man the sense of his own greatness. Joshua learned his lesson for life. There is not one touch, from beginning to end of his course, of any self-exaltation to the exclusion of God. No man could more undividedly carry out the idea that all Israel’s success and victories were due to God alone.[1]

Joshua learned that it wasn’t about him, it was about a big God who was able to do all things well.

Joshua’s next assignment as a warrior was a part of a team of spies. While the majority of the team offered no hope to conquer this new land, Joshua and Caleb challenged the nation with,

Numbers 14:8 NIV

If the Lord is pleased with us, he will lead us into that land, a land flowing with milk and honey, and will give it to us.

On the death of Moses, Joshua inherited the leadership of God’s elect. Joshua commanded an army that subdued 7 mighty nations in and around Canaan. He also was schooled under college of defeat. There is a lot to be learned in that school. As a judge Joshua faced difficulties in settlements of the Promised Land.

Now, in his last hours Joshua had called all the nation’s leaders to come for last minute instructions.

Conclusion #1 – Joshua was respected. He had been there and done that. The people leaned even closer….

The Words of a Hero

He whispered…“not one of all the good promises the Lord your God gave you has failed”. Have you noticed? God is good!

Psalm 145:4–7 NIV

One generation commends your works to another; they tell of your mighty acts. They speak of the glorious splendor of your majesty— and I will meditate on your wonderful works. They tell of the power of your awesome works— and I will proclaim your great deeds. They celebrate your abundant goodness and joyfully sing of your righteousness.

Have you had someone in your life who whispered to you, “not one of all the good promises the Lordyour God gave you has failed”? Often we hear it from those who have not had perfect lives. We do not determine the goodness of the Lord by our circumstances. Corrie Ten Boom and her family were a part of the resistance movement in Germany during WWII. They rescued Jews until they themselves were caught and sent to a concentration camp

Often, I have heard people say, "How good God is! We prayed that it would not rain for our church picnic and look at the lovely weather!'" Yes, God is good when He sends good weather. But God was also good when He allowed my sister, Betsie, to starve to death before my eyes in a German concentration camp. I remember one occasion when I was very discouraged there. Everything around us was dark, and there was darkness in my heart. I remember telling Betsie that I thought God had forgotten us. "No, Corrie," said Betsie, "He has not forgotten us. Remember His Word: 'For as the heavens are high above the earth, so great is His steadfast love toward those who fear Him.'" Corrie concludes, "There is an ocean of God's love available--there is plenty for everyone. May God grant you never to doubt that victorious love--whatever the circumstances." Corrie Ten Boom.

Corrie’s father had died while in prison earlier. 12 days after Betsie’s death Corrie was released due to a clerical error. A week later all the women her age in the camp were sent to the gas chamber. We do not determine the goodness of the Lord by whether we are in a storm, going into a storm, or coming out of a storm.

It is all about perspective. Our perspective needs to have God front and center. A. W. Pink noticed that Joshua’s perspective sees God’s actions in the past, noticed God’s actions in the present, and predicted God’s actions for the future.

I think that considering God’s actions past, present, and future is a great place to gain a Thanksgiving perspective.

Gaining Perspective for Thanksgiving

After Thanksgiving we will all need to do some exercise. Our annual football game helps fill that roll. I think we would be wise to do some emotional and spiritual exercises to develop our thanksgiving.

Have you ever really considered the goodness of God? Joshua encouraged the leaders to do 3 things to enjoy the Goodness of God

Good Perspective Retains Good Memories

Joshua 23:3–4 NIV

You yourselves have seen everything the Lord your God has done to all these nations for your sake; it was the Lord your God who fought for you. Remember how I have allotted as an inheritance for your tribes all the land of the nations that remain—the nations I conquered—between the Jordan and the Mediterranean Sea in the west.

The Veterans Administration realized that veterans struggling with depression needed quick help, especially in solitude. So, along with other organizations they developed apps like The Virtual Hope Box and Suicide Safety Plan to offer immediate help. The veterans fill these apps with pictures of family and friends, encouraging notes, and positive memories that will remind them that they are loved and they have people to love.

Over the years I have used a family Bible to record things that the Lord did for me and my family. I’ve used a journal to record some thoughts. But, best of all, the Bible is filled with reminders of what God has done for us.

Stir up a Thanksgiving perspective by sitting down and recalling the memories of what God has done in your life!

Good Perspective is Disciplined

Joshua 23:6 NIV

“Be very strong; be careful to obey all that is written in the Book of the Law of Moses, without turning aside to the right or to the left.

I went some of the other guys to the shooting range a week ago. Other than getting to hang out with the others, the reason to go was to maintain the skills (or discipline) that I have with the pistol. It had been a while so when I picked up the pistol I had to remember the correct grip. I remembered the correct position of my finger on the trigger and the right trigger squeeze. I remembered to get the right sight picture. All of these things contribute to accuracy and response time.

Joshua advised the people to be strong and to obey all that was written without being influenced by other things around them. Our spiritual work is to remain connected to Jesus through His Spirit and through spiritual disciplines. Some people want to know Jesus but neglect being in the body of Christ. Some people want spiritual strength but ignore the living Word of God. Others want to know God but spend no time in the presence of God whether in prayer or praise.

Exercise a Thanksgiving perspective by living a disciplined spiritual life!

Good Perspective is Single Focused

Joshua 23:8 NIV

But you are to hold fast to the Lord your God, as you have until now.

Quality is always better than quantity.

Mark 8:36 NIV

What good is it for someone to gain the whole world, yet forfeit their soul?

Sometimes Thanksgiving needs to be birthed by letting go of the good things and picking up the best things. Joshua said, “hold fast to the Lord your God”. Life is filled up with stuff that we can pick up. There are things that a man must do. He must be a loving and strong husband. He must be a good father. He must be a diligent worker…and the list goes on. But above everything He must hold fast to the Lord. The Lord is the source of Thanksgiving.

Joshua 23:11 NIV

So be very careful to love the Lord your God.

Have you ever heard anyone, at the end of his life say, “I’ve lived my life loving God and I am not satisfied”? No! Paul told his friend Timothy

2 Timothy 4:6–8 NIV

For I am already being poured out like a drink offering, and the time for my departure is near. I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith. Now there is in store for me the crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous Judge, will award to me on that day—and not only to me, but also to all who have longed for his appearing.

Let’s Share Our Thanksgiving

We need to determine today that we will not only show up on Thanksgiving but we will bring Thanksgiving!

Set Your Perspective by

Refreshing your memories of how God has blessed you

Build up yourselves through spiritual disciplines

Be single focused – focus on eternity.

In conclusion I want to share a story of what can happen when we have a Thanksgiving perspective:

When we started the PCA (Presbyterian Church in America) in 1973, we had no money—not a dime—and we were going to start a new denomination. One group gave us $90,000 for world missions. The only two missionaries we had—Dick Dye and a young woman named Ellen Barnett—were down in Acapulco.

Missionary Dick Dye had been in Acapulco for two months trying to start a church. Whenever he got discouraged, he looked up at a cross he could see on a nearby mountain. That encouraged him. Finally, he drove up the mountain to find out about that cross. And when he did, he found it attached to a big hotel. So Dye asked the secretary, “Can I speak to the man who runs this establishment?”

“Do you have an appointment?”

“No appointment, I just want to tell him something.”

“What do you want to tell him?”

“I want to thank him.”

The secretary got the owner. Dye said, “I’m a missionary from the United States here in Acapulco. I’ve been discouraged. But I see that cross and it encourages me. I want to thank you for having it up there.”

The man looked at Dye, put his head down on his desk, and began to weep. He wept and wept. Finally he raised his head and said: “That cross has been up there for years. All I’ve heard is criticism. You’re the first man who ever said thank you. Now, who are you and what do you need?”

“I’m just a missionary,” Dick answered.

“Where do you meet?”

“We don’t meet anywhere. I don’t have any place to meet.”

The owner said, “Come with me.” He took Dick to a beautiful chapel and said, “We have church here at 9:00 a.m. and 11:00 a.m. From now on, it is yours at 10:00 a.m. You begin services next week.”

That was the beginning of the first Presbyterian Church in America missionary plant. Within a few years, we turned four congregations over to the Presbyterian Church of Mexico. How did it start? With one guy who said thank you.

—James Baird, in the sermon “To Be Thankful,” Independent Presbyterian Church, Savannah, Georgia[2]

Thank you!

[1]James Hastings, ed., The Greater Men and Women of the Bible: Moses-Samson (Edinburgh: T&T Clark, 1914), 367. [2]Craig Brian Larson and Phyllis Ten Elshof, 1001 Illustrations That Connect (Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan Publishing House, 2008), 44.