Be Thankful

Psalm 136:1 NLT

Give thanks to the Lord, for he is good! His faithful love endures forever.

Introduction:

I read a story the other day about a man who came home and found nine men robbing his house. Eight of the robbers ran away but the man was able to subdue one of them and as he struggled with him, he pushed him into a backyard pool. The homeowner quickly realized that the robber couldn’t swim so he jumped in and rescued him. When the robber collected himself, he called out to his friends that ran away and pulled a knife on the homeowner. [Wow! What thanks for saving his life!] The homeowner quickly responded and pushed the man back in the pool and then proceeded to save the thug all over again.

While this is a great example of someone who was unthankful, I must admit that I have found myself not being as thankful as I should be. You might be like me and have not been as grateful as you should. Can I just tell you today that we are blessed!

I have said it before but as we prepare to celebrate Thanksgiving, our gratitude should be part of who we are and not just something that we express on special days.

While its easy to celebrate while there is a bounty, we must be careful when all the reminders are long gone and discontentment starts bubbling back up in us.

look what has been said about this….

Discontented Hearts

"The person with the discontented heart has the attitude that everything he does for God is too much, and everything God does for him is too little."

Source: Don Kistler, Tabletalk (9-18-01), p.15

Today, I want to highlight six people in the Bible who failed to be thankful and what they can teach us:

Adam and Eve

They lived in perfection - had everything they needed

despite having an abundance of blessing they listened to the serpent

Satan made them believe that God withheld something good from them ( how often do we find ourselves in that situation?)

I just recently found myself upset about waiting an extra 15 minutes for some dinner. (I should be thankful that I had dinner and a beautiful wife to prepare it for me) How foolish of me….

I also have literally looked at my Keurig coffeemaker and complained about how long it took. Does anyone remember how we used to make coffee on the stove with a percolator? doesn’t this sound ridiculous? How many of us would be honest and admit that we have felt like God was withholding some good from us?

Adam and Eve had plenty but wanted more!

Their choices let sin enter the world leading to death and separation from God.

Ingratitude is dangerous!

instead of expressing gratitude for what they had, they sought what wasn’t theirs!

Focusing on what we lack fosters disobedience and despair, while gratitude for his blessings creates trust, peace, and life.

Cain

Genesis 4:1–7 NLT

Now Adam had sexual relations with his wife, Eve, and she became pregnant. When she gave birth to Cain, she said, “With the Lord’s help, I have produced a man!” Later she gave birth to his brother and named him Abel. When they grew up, Abel became a shepherd, while Cain cultivated the ground. When it was time for the harvest, Cain presented some of his crops as a gift to the Lord. Abel also brought a gift—the best portions of the firstborn lambs from his flock. The Lord accepted Abel and his gift, but he did not accept Cain and his gift. This made Cain very angry, and he looked dejected. “Why are you so angry?” the Lord asked Cain. “Why do you look so dejected? You will be accepted if you do what is right. But if you refuse to do what is right, then watch out! Sin is crouching at the door, eager to control you. But you must subdue it and be its master.”

God did not accept Cain’s offering because of his heart

God gave Cain opportunity for correction but he despised God

He became angry and resentful instead

We all need correction, and God’s love convicts and leads us to righteousness when we veer off the true path.

Cain’s story becomes a tragic example of how failing to recognize God’s wisdom and grace leads to disaster.

We must learn to view God’s correction as a gift, saving us from destruction and curses, and react with humility and gratitude when faced with the Father’s discipline.

How you see God is crucial. Do you see Him as a dictator demanding obedience or as a Good Father who wants good for His children?

Let us embrace God’s guidance, which always aims to lead us to a better relationship with him and others.

The Israelites in the Wilderness

They experienced God’s deliverance and provision.

They were delivered from Egypt through the miracle of the red sea.

God guided them by a pillar of smoke during the day and a pillar of smoke at night.

They had manna to eat. The actual food from heaven!!

Instead of thankfulness they were discontent and complained

They were so close to the promised land and listened to the report of giants instead of trusting God.

Ingratitude can keep us from God’s best!

Even though God had been faithful, they chose to focus on their lack

Their discontent led to rebellion and losing out on the promise

The answer for discontentment is gratitude!

We are blessed!

Can you just take a few seconds and give God praise!

The Unforgiving Servant

Matthew 18:23–35 NLT

“Therefore, the Kingdom of Heaven can be compared to a king who decided to bring his accounts up to date with servants who had borrowed money from him. In the process, one of his debtors was brought in who owed him millions of dollars. He couldn’t pay, so his master ordered that he be sold—along with his wife, his children, and everything he owned—to pay the debt. “But the man fell down before his master and begged him, ‘Please, be patient with me, and I will pay it all.’ Then his master was filled with pity for him, and he released him and forgave his debt. “But when the man left the king, he went to a fellow servant who owed him a few thousand dollars. He grabbed him by the throat and demanded instant payment. “His fellow servant fell down before him and begged for a little more time. ‘Be patient with me, and I will pay it,’ he pleaded. But his creditor wouldn’t wait. He had the man arrested and put in prison until the debt could be paid in full. “When some of the other servants saw this, they were very upset. They went to the king and told him everything that had happened. Then the king called in the man he had forgiven and said, ‘You evil servant! I forgave you that tremendous debt because you pleaded with me. Shouldn’t you have mercy on your fellow servant, just as I had mercy on you?’ Then the angry king sent the man to prison to be tortured until he had paid his entire debt. “That’s what my heavenly Father will do to you if you refuse to forgive your brothers and sisters from your heart.”

Jesus’ parable teaches us the importance of mercy and the dangers of withholding it. It reminds us of the great gift that God has given us. We owed more than we could pay and He forgave our debts.

Instead of allowing the master’s generosity to change his heart, the man in the parable remained unforgiving and cruel, and it led to his own downfall.

For us, God’s undeserved mercy regarding our own massive sin debt should lead us to praise and thank him. Further, that thankfulness should inspire us to forgive and show compassion to others, just as Jesus forgave us.

9 Lepers

Luke 17:12–19 NLT

As he entered a village there, ten men with leprosy stood at a distance, crying out, “Jesus, Master, have mercy on us!” He looked at them and said, “Go show yourselves to the priests.” And as they went, they were cleansed of their leprosy. One of them, when he saw that he was healed, came back to Jesus, shouting, “Praise God!” He fell to the ground at Jesus’ feet, thanking him for what he had done. This man was a Samaritan. Jesus asked, “Didn’t I heal ten men? Where are the other nine? Has no one returned to give glory to God except this foreigner?” And Jesus said to the man, “Stand up and go. Your faith has healed you.”

The nine healed lepers experienced a life-changing miracle — healed from a deadly and gruesome disease and allowed back into society.

Yet they failed to recognize the true source of the blessing, Jesus Christ.

After such an amazing gift, they continued on their own way, missing the opportunity to express gratitude to Jesus.

God has saved us, healed us in many ways, and given us miraculous things.

When we receive blessings without acknowledging the giver, we become spiritually blind.

God’s blessings are meant to bring us closer to him, not to continue on our own path and do our own thing.

Gratitude opens our eyes to more of God’s work in our lives and strengthens our relationship with him.

There’s yet one more example:

Rich Young Ruler

Matthew 19:16–22 NLT

Someone came to Jesus with this question: “Teacher, what good deed must I do to have eternal life?” “Why ask me about what is good?” Jesus replied. “There is only One who is good. But to answer your question—if you want to receive eternal life, keep the commandments.” “Which ones?” the man asked. And Jesus replied: “ ‘You must not murder. You must not commit adultery. You must not steal. You must not testify falsely. Honor your father and mother. Love your neighbor as yourself.’” “I’ve obeyed all these commandments,” the young man replied. “What else must I do?” Jesus told him, “If you want to be perfect, go and sell all your possessions and give the money to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven. Then come, follow me.” But when the young man heard this, he went away sad, for he had many possessions.

The young man could have been thankful for this answer, trusting in God’s provision even if he gave it all away.

Instead, the young ruler walked away sad because he had many possessions.

He couldn’t bring himself to let go of his wealth; it had become his security instead of God.

Jesus gave him a chance to find security in God and use his money to bring blessings to others. But the rich young ruler missed this chance.

Trusting in material wealth brings anxiety!

Wealth can be stolen or pass away. It really doesn’t bring any security in the long run.

Our material riches can blind us to the greater and longer lasting rewards in God and heaven.

When we seek first the Kingdom, God will provide all we need (Matthew 6:33), a true security since God is always faithful.

And when we give to those in need, Proverbs 28:27 tells us God will make sure we never lack. Proverbs 28:27 “Whoever gives to the poor will lack nothing, but those who close their eyes to poverty will be cursed.”

Jesus gives us the same opportunity he gave the rich young ruler, to use our worldly goods to bless others and find real security. Let’s be thankful for God’s continued blessings and his leading to bring relief to the poor, which reveals the gospel.

As I close today’s message and we prepare for our lovely dinner I want us to take a few minutes and express our gratitude to God for what He has done for us.

First, He saved us! If it wasn’t for His mercy, we would all be separated forever. (Thank you Jesus!)

Second, He has blessed us with a church family who can walk out this life with.

Third, He has blessed us with His Holy Spirt, who guides us and helps us daily.

I want God to know how much I appreciate Him and I want you to know how much I appreciate you!

I thank God for you all!

Altar Call

If you don’t know Jesus as your Savior, you can today. Draw close to Him and He will draw close to you.

If you need to come and pray, we are honored to pray with you.

If you just need to come and thank God, the altars are open and prepared for you! Its up to you to respond how you need to.