2024-11-17 Thank You for… 10 Reasons…

Well, we are starting a short little two week series called, / / “Thank you for…”. This week we are going to look at why it is that we should give thanks. A Biblical basis for gratitude. Not for the holiday - the holiday is just our forefather’s way of making sure at least once a year we were grateful toward God. And I appreciate that. America and Canada are the only two nations that have a thanksgiving. Not to say that other countries aren’t thankful, but I like that we actually have an intentional time of giving thanks. It’s a good reminder. We need those.

So, I want to ask a question this morning that we’ll go through a few different answers for:

/ / “What’s the big deal about giving thanks?”

First, the bible talks a lot about giving thanks.

If we simply just read all the places the bible talks about giving thanks, or gratitude, or thanking God, we could literally just be here for the next couple hours reading scripture after scripture. The bible is full of this encouragement.

Why? What’s the big deal?

I want to look at 10 reasons this morning as to why we should give thanks. I’m sure we could come up with a whole bunch more, but again, we’d be here all day, and then no one would be thankful, because you’d all be hungry!

Before I get to these reasons I want to first say this.

I think we all understanding that thanksgiving, or giving thanks, is a good thing. Having and giving gratitude is a good thing. But how often do we actually make it a priority? And I’m not saying you need to go start a gratitude journal or anything, although, feel free. But when it comes to being truly thankful, / / do we see this as something of a priority, or something that doesn’t really matter in the grand scheme of things? And I mean that subconsciously, because I think outwardly if we were asked would all say, “Of course, giving thanks is a good thing.”

But, here’s the thing:

/ / You have to choose to give thanks. Maybe that’s why we say “give” thanks. It’s something you choose to give.

It’s not something that always comes naturally.

It’s not something that always comes easily.

And it’s not even something that a lot of people even think to do. So many people live their lives oblivious to need for thanksgiving and gratitude in this world.

For sure we’re going to look at Christian reasons for giving thanks, but let’s be honest, the world needs it too. Not just from a perspective of humanity towards God, but humanity towards humanity.

I mentioned this a few weeks ago, my therapist will sometimes say to me, “Oh honey, You just need some affirmation.” We, as humans, all of us, no one excepted, need fundamental, core, relational connection points with other people that speak to us things we need to hear.

So, Giving Thanks doesn’t just happen, you have to choose to do it.

Sometimes we are so consumed in our own world, our own affairs, that we miss opportunity to truly be thankful, because we’re too busy, to focused, or the other way too distracted, too uncaring.

I will say this, and maybe this is just me, but have you noticed that people tend to be pretty good at looking for the negatives in everything, whether that is situations, people, businesses, whatever. Those are super easy to spot. But are we good at choosing to be thankful? Remembering what we are thankful for? Or looking for something to be thankful for. Some days there doesn’t feel like there actually IS anything to be thankful for. Those are the days we really need to choose to be.

So, let’s talk through / / 10 reasons why it’s not just a good idea, but this is actually a part of the Christian life that Jesus is calling us to follow Him in. This isn’t 10 things to be thankful for, it’s 10 reasons in scripture we are told to be thankful. And maybe, this will help you in your conscious efforts to be more thankful in the everyday.

/ / 1. It is God’s Will

We all want to know God’s will, right?

We pray for it. Especially in our last series on the Sermon on the Mount. Jesus, when teaching us how to pray, said, “Pray like this, our Father in heaven, hallowed be your name, your kingdom come, your will be done, on earth as it is in heaven.”

We want the will of God to happen. Not just because it’s the Christian thing, but because that’s the best case scenario for all of us. The will of God for the earth is the best possible outcome for anyone and everything. Even if we don’t understand it.

So, when it comes to giving thanks, how is that His will?

1 Thessalonians 5:16-18 says, / / Always be joyful. Never stop praying. Be thankful in all circumstances, for this is God’s will for you who belong to Christ Jesus.

We could just camp out here for the rest of the morning.

Always be joyful.

Never stop praying.

Be thankful in all circumstances.

That is just a super powerful combination of things. And I would suggest that they work in reverse of the order that Paul writes them.

Start by being thankful, grateful, even when you feel like there’s nothing to be grateful for, start there, intentionally move your eyes, your focus to what God HAS done, rather than what you don’t see him doing, or think he’s not doing. When we think in terms of God not doing things it can breed impatience and resentment, but when we remind ourselves of what he’s done, it can be the birthplace of thanksgiving, and a breeding ground for faith and hope. Remembering what Jesus has done reminds us that not only DID he do it, but that He CAN do it again!

I think we read this last week, Romans 12:2 says, / / Don’t copy the behavior and customs of this world, but let God transform you into a new person by changing the way you think. Then you will learn to know God’s will for you, which is good and pleasing and perfect.

Let me ask you this. What 1 Thessalonians encouraged us to do… having true Joy, dedication to Prayer, being thankful in all circumstances. Is that the general practice of the world, or is that more in line with God’s desire for our lives?

So Paul, who wrote both of those is encouraging us, “Thankfulness is the will of God for you. But, because it is also the way of God, it will further help you learn the will of God for your life, which is good, and pleasing, and perfect.”

/ / 2. It is Worship

This is a big one. Let’s start in Colossians 3:16-17 which really connects the last point to this one. / / Let the message about Christ, in all its richness, fill your lives. Teach and counsel each other with all the wisdom he gives. Sing psalms and hymns and spiritual songs to God with thankful hearts. And whatever you do or say, do it as a representative of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks through him to God the Father.

/ / Sing to God with thankful hearts

whatever you do or say, give thanks to God…

Giving thanks is an act of worship. And by that of course I mean giving thanks to God. But we could easily argue that the act of being thankful in any and all circumstances, which is the will of God for your life, is the way Christ has called us to live, it’s obedience to him, which is how we show him we love him, and so that is also worship.

But for the moment, let’s focus on giving thanks to God. So much scripture on this one:

Psalm 100:1-5, / / Shout with joy to the Lord, all the earth! Worship the Lord with gladness. Come before him, singing with joy. Acknowledge that the Lord is God! He made us, and we are his. We are his people, the sheep of his pasture. Enter his gates with thanksgiving; go into his courts with praise. Give thanks to him and praise his name. For the Lord is good. His unfailing love continues forever, and his faithfulness continues to each generation.

Give thanks to him and praise his name!

Now, there’s no indication of who wrote Psalm 100, but David, who did write many of the Psalms has this cool little thing play out in scripture. In Psalm 35:18, David writes, / / Then I will thank you in front of the great assembly. I will praise you before all the people.

And then in 1 Chronicles 29:10, 13, again, showing the connection of praise and thanksgiving. / / Then David praised the Lord in the presence of the whole assembly: “O our God, we thank you and praise your glorious name!”

He was true to his promise. He said, Get me out of this jam and I’ll praise you in front of everyone. I’ll thank you in public! Sure enough, when he we king, he did just that.

/ / It is good to give thanks to the Lord, to sing praises to the Most High. (Psalm 92:1)

/ / Praise the Lord! Give thanks to the Lord, for he is good! His faithful love endures forever. (Psalm 106:1)

In 2 Chronicles when the Ark of the Covenant, which represented the presence of God in the midst of Israel, was brought into the temple, 2 Chronicles 5:13 says, / / The trumpeters and singers performed together in unison to praise and give thanks to the Lord. Accompanied by trumpets, cymbals, and other instruments, they raised their voices and praised the Lord with these words: “He is good! His faithful love endures forever!” At that moment a thick cloud filled the Temple of the Lord. The priests could not continue their service because of the cloud, for the glorious presence of the Lord filled the temple of God.

Giving thanks in worship invites a response from God. Scripture says where two or three are gathered in His name, he is with them. Scripture also says that God inhabits the praises of his people. Worship is connected to giving thanks, and it’s connected to a response from and an experience with God.

Psalm 50:14, 23 says this:

/ / Make thankfulness your sacrifice to God… giving thanks is a sacrifice that truly honors me. If you keep my path, I will reveal to you the salvation of God.

Remember what I said in the beginning. Giving thanks doesn’t always come easy. It’s not our first thought. Sometimes we have to make ourselves do it. Sometimes it’s a sacrifice.

I’m sure this doesn’t happen to you, but do you know anyone who seems to like to sit in their anger a little too long? They seem to like being crusty and complain? A Negative Nancy, a Frustrated Frank…

It’s good to fight for our worship.

It’s good to push ourselves OUT of that bad attitude and into a posture of giving praise and thanks to God, even if…especially when it is a sacrifice for us to do so!

Psalm 95:1-3, 6-7 says, / / Come, let us sing to the Lord! Let us shout joyfully to the Rock of our salvation. Let us come to him with thanksgiving. Let us sing psalms of praise to him. For the Lord is a great God, a great King above all gods… Come, let us worship and bow down. Let us kneel before the Lord our maker, for he is our God.

And the last point here on Giving thanks as an act of worship is that this is not just an earthly thing. It does now happen, and will continue to happen in heaven forever.

Whatever your eschatological beliefs are, John is definitely seeing Heaven in the book of Revelation. When and how it all happens is secondary to the reality of heaven. Revelation 7:11-12, / / And all the angels were standing around the throne and around the elders and the four living beings. And they fell before the throne with their faces to the ground and worshiped God. They sang, “Amen! Blessing and glory and wisdom and thanksgiving and honor and power and strength belong to our God forever and ever! Amen.”

So, giving thanks, here, now, in heaven, in eternity, is an act of worship. And do we see that He is worthy of giving thanks too? And do we choose to give God thanks?

/ / 3. It Fights Anxiety

Thanksgiving fights anxiety? Come on Pastor Rob….

Philippians 4:4-7 says, / / Always be full of joy in the Lord. I say it again - rejoice! Let everyone see that you are considerate in all you do. Remember, the Lord is coming soon. Don’t worry about anything…

Want to know the definition of anxiety? A feeling of fear, dread, or uneasiness that can be a reaction to stress. Mild or severe… the definition of worry is to give way to anxiety or unease, to allow one’s mind to dwell on difficulty or troubles…. ok, back to scripture

/ / Don’t worry about anything; instead, pray about everything. Tell God what you need, and thank him for all he has done. Then you will experience God’s peace, which exceeds anything we can understand. His peace will guard your hearts and minds as you live in Christ Jesus.

We make a big deal about our eternal salvation. And rightfully so. We have a hope in Jesus Christ for our eternal salvation. But look at what Paul says here, specifically.

God’s Peace will guard your hearts and minds as you live in Christ Jesus.

Let me say this to you. This scripture is not about eternal reward. This is about the here and now. You will be swimming in God’s peace in heaven, anxiety and fear and worry will be so far removed from you that you won’t even remember it’s existence in your life. But now. NOW is when we need His peace to remove all worry. Now is when we need his love to remove all fear. Now is when we need his reassurance in our hearts and in our minds, our most basic, human emotional and psychological responses NEED the peace of God. And it comes through what? Prayer, Conversation, Thanksgiving, and living in the way of Jesus Christ!

Remember what we talked about last week, Ephesians 5:25-26, / / …Christ loved the church. He gave up his life for her, to make her holy and clean, washed by the cleansing of God’s word.

Some of us need to take a more regular shower!

There’s this great song on the radio right now, Still Waters, by Leanna Crawford. She says, “Anxiety hates Psalm 23, so just say it to yourself ‘til you believe it…”

The Lord is my shepherd, I shall not want.

He leads me by still waters ‘til my fears are gone

Though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death

Oh, I know you are with me, my Father, my friend

Your goodness and mercy will follow me all of my days

I know by Your still waters, I’m safe…

Don’t worry about anything, but in all things, pray, tell God what you need, and thank him for all he has done, it is the key to the peace of Christ Jesus reigning in your hearts and minds!

/ / 4. It reminds us of God’s goodness

How many know it’s easy to forget? So we need reminders. Giving thanks forces us to remember what God has done in our lives.

Have you ever sat down and thought, “What am I thankful for?” And nothing comes to mind? It’s probably because you’re sitting in the moment, not remembering the salvation of our God in the past.

When we focus on the here and now of our troubles, it can drown us. But as Psalm 23 says, Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I know you are with me… Spurring me on, encouraging me, giving me courage and leading me OUT of death and into life!

Psalm 107 is beautiful. Listen:

/ / Give thanks to the Lord, for he is good! His faithful love endures forever. Has the Lord redeemed you? Then speak it out! Tell others he has redeemed you from your enemies. (1-2)

/ / Some wandered in the wilderness, lost and homeless. Hungry and thirsty, they nearly died. “Lord, help!” they cried in their trouble, and he rescued them from their distress. He led them straight to safety, to a city where they could live. Let them praise the Lord for his great love and for the wonderful things he has done for them. For he satisfies the thirsty and fills the hungry with good things. (4-9)

Listen, for years Kelley and I moved from one place to another, searching, longing to find a home where we could feel God planting us. Many of you know our story. Toronto, California, North Carolina, Ottawa, Oslo Norway….finally, landing here. Was it wandering in the wilderness like Israel did, no, but did it feel like wandering? Searching for a place where we could drink deep of God’s faithfulness….yes. Did he answer our prayer, our cry for help? Yes.

/ / Some sat in darkness and deepest gloom, imprisoned in iron chains of misery. They rebelled agains the words of God, scorning the counsel of the Most High… “Lord, help!” they cried in their trouble, and he saved them from their distress. He led them from the darkness and deepest gloom; he snapped their chains. Let them praise the Lord for his great love and for the wonderful things he has done for them. For he broke down their prison gates of bronze; he cut apart their bars of iron. (10-16)

How many have suffered from depression? Darkness? Hopelessness, and yet, in those moments you cried out to the Lord, and he heard you? Saved you from the darkness. From yourself even.

/ / Some were fools; they rebelled and suffered for their sins. They couldn’t stand the thought of food, and they were knocking on death’s door. “Lord, help!” they cried in their trouble, and he saved them from their distress. He sent out his word and healed them, snatching them from the door of death. Let them praise the Lord for his great love and for the wonderful things he has done for them. Let them offer sacrifices of thanksgiving and sing joyfully about his glorious acts. (17-22)

How many have been set free from sin? From addiction? From feelings of brokenness and bondage? How many have absolutely, royally crashed and burned in your sin and yet God was faithful and just to hear your cry for help and rescue you? I know I have! Do you remember that time?

Maybe you feel like that again! If you feel stuck, if you feel broken in sin. Remind yourself. He is faithful to respond the cry of his people.

“Lord, Help!” might just be the prayer for today in your life!

/ / Some went off to sea in ships, plying the trade routes of the world. They, too, observed the Lord’s power in action, his impressive works on the deepest seas. He spoke, and the winds rose, stirring up the waves. Their ships were tossed to the heavens and plunged again to the depths; the sailors cringed in terror. They reeled and staggered like drunkards and were at their wits’ end. “Lord, help!” they cried in their trouble, and he saved them from their distress. He calmed the storm to a whisper and stilled the waves. What a blessing was that stillness as he brought them safely into harbor! Let them praise the Lord for his great love and for the wonderful things he has done for them. Let them exalt him publicly before the congregation and before the leaders of the nation. (23-32)

I’ve heard the story a million times of Julie, my mother in law, in constant prayer, as loud as she possibly could sitting in this building right next to us as Hurricane Andrew rocked the walls back and forth, the roof rattling, her baby in her arms her youngest daughter in the cupboard…

Different situation, but, I remember coming home and sitting down in my chair after being released from the hospital having survived the storm of covid in my body… the stillness of that moment sitting in my chair, alive, safe, when in all reality I should have been dead… Was I unscathed? No. But overwhelmed with the gratitude of the Lord’s salvation.

Whether it is salvation from the physical storms of life, or health storms, emotional storms, psychological storms… you name it, the voice of the Lord still calms storms. The mighty hand of God still saves souls.

And then the writer finishes, Psalm 107:42-43, / / The godly will see these things and be glad, while the wicked are struck silent. Those who are wise will take all this to heart; they will see in our history the faithful love of the Lord.

Do you see in your history the faithful love of the Lord?

I would invite you this morning to recognize, to see that it is God that brought you here this morning, to be told that He is with you, calling out to you, and responding to your cries, “Lord, help!”

I don’t believe anyone walks in this place by accident. You’re here because the Holy Spirit draws people to the heart of God. That’s the good news of the Gospel, that God draws humanity to himself, and through the power of the Holy Spirit reveals to us our own suffering and pain, our own faults and deficiencies as humans in need of a Savior. And when we see Jesus. What a beautiful sight He is. The very response to our cry for help, even if we didn’t realize it.

/ / 5. It opens doors

Psalm 100:4 says, / / Enter his gates with thanksgiving, and his courts with praise! Give thanks to him; bless his name!

Not everyone reads it this way, but I do. / / Thanksgiving is the key that opens the gates, praise is the posture by which we enter his courts!

Why do I say that? Because for sure the opposite is true.

Grumbling, complaining, a bad attitude shuts us off from them, by our own actions.

And we could easily translate this toward human interactions as well.

Grumbling, complaining, a bad attitude shuts doors. But thanksgiving, joy, service, these things open doors. It’s just true.

/ / 6. It is Part of Prayer

And this is another big one, but we won’t spend too much time on it, but all through scripture you will see a direct connection between prayer and giving thanks.

We already saw it when we read Philippians 4:6, / / Don’t worry about anything; instead, pray about everything. Tell God what you need, and thank him for all he has done.

Colossians 4:2, / / Devote yourselves to prayer with an alert mind and a thankful heart.

We also saw this when we read 1 Thessalonians 5:16-18, / / Always be joyful. Never stop praying. Be thankful in all circumstances, for this is God’s will for you who belong to Christ Jesus.

/ / Giving thanks is the posture from which prayer should start!

Reverence and awe of who God is as we come to him.

This is why Jesus says, when teaching us how to pray, “Start with, Our Father in heaven, hallowed be your name.” We look to you, we honor you, we thank you for who you are.

Isaiah 12:4 says, / / “Give thanks to the Lord, call upon his name, make known his deeds among the peoples, proclaim that his name is exalted.”

That “call upon his name” is prayer…even if it’s just, “Lord, Help!”

Give thanks…call upon his name…

Give thanks…tell God what you need…

Give thanks…pray…

Prayer and thanksgiving go hand in hand!

/ / 7. It builds unity

Up to this point we’ve been really focusing on giving thanks to God, but when we also enter into thanksgiving with the people around us, it opens doors and builds unity and friendship. Do you realize how powerful it is saying to someone that you are thankful for them, or for what they have done for you. And do you realize how easy it is to not do it. To simply take things for granted, and a lot of times, people need to just hear that they are appreciated, that you are grateful for them, and for what they do.

Paul would often use this in his letters to the churches. Some of those letters had some pretty hard hitting things in them. Some correction, some discipline, but often times he starts with saying how grateful he is for them, and how he continues to thank God for them. What is it that Theodore Roosevelt said, “People don’t care how much you know until they know how much you care.”

So Paul would help the conversation by starting with, “I care for you. I’m grateful for you.”

Ephesians 1:15-16, / / Ever since I first heard of your strong faith in the Lord Jesus and your love for God’s people everywhere, I have not stopped thanking God for you. I pray for you constantly…

2 Thessalonians 1:3-4, / / Dear brothers and sisters, we can’t help but thank God for you, because your faith is flourishing and your love for one another is growing. We proudly tell God’s other churches about your endurance and faithfulness in all the persecutions and hardships that you are suffering.

And this is what he taught his leaders to do. Those he was teaching and working with as elders and pastors in the communities that he had visited. He writes to Timothy, a young pastor at the time:

1 Timothy 2:1, / / I urge you, first of all, to pray for all people. Ask God to help them; intercede on their behalf, and give thanks for them.

Being thankful for people encourages relational growth. But remember, it takes being intentional to be thankful. It doesn’t just happen on its own. You have to want to do it, and have to actually do it!

/ / 8. It Keeps You From Deception

This is another big one, and for this we actually have to see the opposite. The bible talks about what happens when humanity chooses to stop thanking God. For sake of time I won’t read the whole thing. But Paul writes in Romans 1:18-32 describing that the reality of God is apparent to all. Everyone can see that God exists, just by looking at creation around us. But this is where the problems start:

Romans 1:21-23, / / For although they knew God, they did not honor him as God or give thanks to him, but they became futile in their thinking, and their foolish hearts were darkened. Claiming to be wise, they became fools, and exchanged the glory of the immortal God for images resembling mortal men and birds and animals and creeping things.

What’s he saying? Basically, humanity will worship anything and everything else when we choose to no longer recognize God for who He is, and no longer give him honor and thanks.

In one of my classes this past Thursday that was a topic of discussion, what does it mean to have an idol? And not just in the sense of a statue, a wooden, or stone idol that you might see in people’s homes. Yes, that’s still a thing. Buddha statues are idols… And I won’t go further on that, but there are others as well. The bible is clear, have no other gods before Me, have no graven image. Graven means engraved, or carved from a substance…

Obviously we should not have those, but the question was, what else? And the consensus all across the classroom was this: Anything that draws our attention and our affection away from God.

/ / For although they knew God, they did not honor him as God or give thanks to him…

because they thought they were hott stuff on their own…

because they thought that independence for themselves was better than dependence on God…

because they couldn’t see God, so they decided to focus on what they could see… nature, health, image, money, sex, anything they could get their hands on that was vying for their affections…

Listen to what Paul says happens as a result:

Romans 1:24, 26, 28, / / Therefore God gave them up in the lusts of their hearts to impurity… For this reason God gave them up to dishonorable passions… And since they did not see fit to acknowledge God, God gave them up to a debased mind to do what ought not to be done. They were filled with all manner of unrighteousness, evil, covetousness, malice. They are full of envy, murder, strife, deceit, maliciousness. They are gossips, slanderers, haters of God, insolent, haughty, boastful, inventors of evil, disobedient to parents, foolish, faithless, heartless, ruthless. Though they know God’s righteous decree that those who practice such things deserve to die, they not only do them but give approval to those who practice them.

Why? And how? I mean, what the craziness is this…

/ / For although they knew God, they did not honor him as God or give thanks to him…

When we choose to no longer honor God, to no longer give him thanks, we are choosing the way of the world and in that there is no option but to become debase in our thinking, which means we can no longer withstand the test, it’s an utter failure, we become unwise, futile in our thinking, we become unordered in our actions, given to our passions, our lusts, the desires of our flesh.

Just look at the world around you. Ever hear anyone say, “Common sense doesn’t seem so common anymore.” Why? Because when you choose to no longer thank and honor God you become foolish in your thinking. And this is not exempt from those within the church. I wish it were, but it’s not. Look at what Paul says, / / Though they know God’s righteous decree that those who practice such things deserve to die (and let’s remember what that actually means, Romans 6:23, For the wages of sin is death…) they not only do them but give approval to those who practice them.

Though they know.

They know the truth of God’s word. Yet, for whatever reason are choosing to disregard what God has said. Often times under the guise of “love” and “compassion” and “tolerance”, they disregard what God has said will kill us, sin, and make a place for it in their lives and in the church. Giving approval to those who practice them.

But, keeping your head on straight and your heart in line - giving God thanks in honor will keep you from being deceived.

/ / 9. It keeps you humble

This is a quick one. But giving thanks keeps me on task. When I thank God for what I have, rather than thinking I did all this on my own, it keeps me humble.

When I thank God for my job.

When I thank God for what he’s done in my life.

Kelley and I just celebrated 17 years of marriage on Friday…when I think of that I am humbled that He has been with us the whole time, healing us, making us better people, doing a work in us that only He could do.

When I thank God for good health, good relationships, a family who I love, it reminds me that all I have is from him.

Giving thanks keeps us humble before God.

/ / 10. It gives you right perspective

It’s easy to forget. It’s easy to think we’ve arrived, or that we’re good. It’s easy to misunderstand the time and the season.

When we are no longer thankful for what God has done in our past, we forget what we come from, we forget how much salvation we actually needed. There is a healthy understanding of our need for redemption. We don’t have to feel dirty and unclean and wretched now, - we are redeemed, we are saved, we are set free. BUT, it does us well to remember what we’ve come from for the sake of giving thanks to God. Remember Psalm 107 that we read earlier.

I want to read from John 8:31:

/ / Jesus said to the people who believed in him, “You are truly my disciples if you remain faithful to my teachings. And you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free.”

Alright, y’all know that’s one of my favorite. It puts us into a good understanding of what it means to follow Jesus, it means we actually do what he said to do. It’s not just believing in our heads, not just confessing with our mouths, but following takes movement, action and follow through.

But, the people he said this to were confused. So they ask:

/ / “But we are descendants of Abraham. We have never been slaves to anyone. What do you mean, ‘You will be set free’?”

And Jesus gets into it. This is the conversation where he says that they are actually children of the devil, who is the father of lies, who can’t say anything but a lie because it’s his very character and nature. But what I want to focus on is this little statement they make. And this is where I want to finish this morning.

/ / “We have never been slaves to anyone.”

Now, who remembers the Old Testament?

Kind of a big part of it is what? That Israel are slaves to Egypt for 400 years, right?

The problem here is they’re completely forgetting what they come from and what God did in their lives, the promises he made.

Have you ever heard the saying, / / “Hard times create strong men. Strong men create good times. Good times create weak men. And, weak men create hard times.” - G. Michael Hopf

I’m going to repurpose this saying because I think the same can be said of our journey in redemption.

/ / Redemption creates free humanity.

Free humanity is able to thrive.

Thriving humanity can breed spiritual complacency.

Spiritual complacency stops thanking God…

Thanksgiving gives us right perspective.

You don’t have to relive your past, but you should remain thankful you’re no longer there.

Don’t go back to the trauma, or the pain, or even what you saw at the time as joy. Because the enemy will try to get you to remember the good ol’ days, that sure, there may have been some feel good parts, but let’s be honest with ourselves, they often come with some pretty heavy baggage.

This can still happen to me when I walk out of a restaurant, I’ve just had a nice meal, and I catch a whiff of someone’s cigarette and immediately I think, “oh, I could go for a smoke right now…”

In the moment all I remember is the sensation of smoking, and don’t remember at all my lungs begging me to stop, my throat aching in the morning, the coughing, the freaking out when I couldn’t have one…

Or with seeing desserts… Sometimes I just want to eat all the things… and in the moment, even though my health is going well, my bloodwork is good, I am only remembering that sweet wonderful taste, not the constant need for water because my blood sugar is through the roof, and then I’m up all night in the bathroom, I’m barely functioning because I’m so lethargic, drained and killing myself…but in the moment the enemy is like, “Ya, but remember how good that tasted, right???” …

It’s usually not the high we get from the sin we’re stuck in that we don’t want to go back to, that’s the whole point. That’s the whole draw. There’s a reason it’s called temptation, because it’s literally tempting, it was enjoyable, it felt good, it satiated something in you. But the wages of it were killing you.

Thanksgiving keeps us with the right perspective, thankful for the redemption and salvation of Jesus Christ.

Romans 6:6-7, 12 / / We know that our old sinful selves were crucified with Christ so that sin might lose its power in our lives. We are no longer slaves to sin!

But he gives this warning, even after identifying that we’re free… Romans 6:12-13, 16 / / Do not let sin control the way you live; do not give in to sinful desires. Do not let any part of your body become an instrument of evil to serve sin. Don’t you realize that you become the slave of whatever you choose to obey? You can be a slave to sin, which leads to death, or you can choose to obey God, which leads to righteous living.

The point is this. In their freedom the people Jesus was talking to forgot about their slavery. It can be difficult for the redeemed, when everything is going well, to remember where they came from, losing the most powerful aspect of thanksgiving they have. Jesus said that the more we’ve been forgiven of the more we love. The real power of our history is that it can keep us in line with where we want to go, because we never want to go back there, so we set our eyes forward, and instead of trying to muscle on in our own strength, we allow an overwhelming sense of thanksgiving and gratitude flow out of us for the salvation and redemption we have found in Christ Jesus.

So, why give thanks? Why focus on being a people who live to be thankful?

/ / It is God’s will

It is worship

It fights anxiety

It reminds us of God’s goodness

It opens doors

It is part of prayer

It builds unity

It keeps you from deception

It keeps you humble

It gives you right perspective