Attitude of Gratitude
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Rudyard Kipling was a great British poet whose writings have blessed many of us, including a generation gone by. Rudyard Kipling was a very famous writer even before he died, and made a great deal of money at his trade.A newspaper reporter came up to him once and said, ''Mr. Kipling, I just read that somebody calculated that the money you make from your writings amounts to over $100 a word.'' Mr. Kipling raised his eyebrows and said, ''Really, I certainly wasn't aware of that.'' The reporter cynically reached into his pocket and pulled out a $100 bill and gave it to Kipling and said, ''Here's a $100 bill Mr. Kipling. Now you give me one of your $100 words.'' Rudyard Kipling looked at that $100 bill for a moment, took it and folded it up and put it in his pocket and said, ''Thanks.''
Oct 9th 2017
Rev. Shawn C. Lund
Thanksgiving 2017
Rudyard Kipling was a great British poet whose writings have blessed many of us, including a generation gone by. Rudyard Kipling was a very famous writer even before he died, and made a great deal of money at his trade.
A newspaper reporter came up to him once and said, ''Mr. Kipling, I just read that somebody calculated that the money you make from your writings amounts to over $100 a word.'' Mr. Kipling raised his eyebrows and said, ''Really, I certainly wasn't aware of that.'' The reporter cynically reached into his pocket and pulled out a $100 bill and gave it to Kipling and said, ''Here's a $100 bill Mr. Kipling. Now you give me one of your $100 words.'' Rudyard Kipling looked at that $100 bill for a moment, took it and folded it up and put it in his pocket and said, ''Thanks.''
Rudyard Kipling looked at that $100 bill for a moment, took it and folded it up and put it in his pocket and said, ''Thanks.''
Well the word ''thanks'' is certainly a $100 word. In fact, I would say it is more like a million dollar word. That is one word that is too seldom heard, too rarely spoken, and too often forgotten.
If any nation ought to be thankful to God and grateful for His goodness, it ought to be Canada. If any people in Canada ought to be thankful to God and grateful for His goodness, it ought to be Christians. If any group of Christians ought to be thankful to God and grateful for His goodness, it ought to be the Christians in this Church. We ought to have an attitude of gratitude.
Two old friends met each other on the street one day. One looked forlorn, almost on the verge of tears. His friend asked, “What has the world done to you, my old friend?”The sad fellow said, “Let me tell you: three weeks ago, my uncle died and left me forty thousand dollars.”“That’s a lot of money.”“But you see, two weeks ago, a cousin I never even knew died, and left me eighty-five thousand dollars, free and clear.” “Sounds to me that you’ve been very blessed.”“You don’t understand!” he interrupted. “Last week my great-aunt passed away. I inherited almost a quarter of a million from her.”Now the man’s friend was really confused. “Then, why do you look so glum?”“This week . . . nothing!”
The sad fellow said, “Let me tell you: three weeks ago, my uncle died and left me forty thousand dollars.”
“That’s a lot of money.”
“But you see, two weeks ago, a cousin I never even knew died, and left me eighty-five thousand dollars, free and clear.”
“Sounds to me that you’ve been very blessed.”
“You don’t understand!” he interrupted. “Last week my great-aunt passed away. I inherited almost a quarter of a million from her.”
Now the man’s friend was really confused. “Then, why do you look so glum?”
“This week . . . nothing!”
That’s a problem with receiving something on a regular basis.
Even if it is a gift, we eventually come to expect it.
The natural tendency is that if we receive a gift long enough, we come to view it almost as an entitlement.
We feel hurt, even angry, if we don’t receive it any longer.
It is the same way with the blessings God gives us every day. I don’t deserve my comfortable home that I live in, the beautiful scenery around me, the clean water I drink.
But after receiving these gifts (and a multitude of others) for years, I sometimes fail to be grateful. I’ve come to expect these good things.
And when one of them is removed for a short time (like water or electricity or internet going down), I get upset.
That Brings us to point #1
1. Realize we have much to be thankful for
Truth is we have so much to be thankful for
But admittedly there are times when our focus moves from what we have to what we don’t have
It’s important for us to take stock of what we do have
We do this by counting our blessings
Counting our blessings is always being humble and giving thanks for everything in life.
We are thankful for Jesus Christ who is everything.
We are thankful for food, friends, family, God’s Love.
Appreciate everything in life because there are people who are starving and in a way harder situation than you.
Your bad days are someone’s good days.
Even when you drink a glass of water do it for the glory of God. Clean water is a luxury in many places in the world. I’ve travelled to numerous places where the only clean water to drink comes in a bottle
Clean water is a luxury in many places in the world
Clean water is a luxury in many places in the world
I’ve travelled to numerous places where the only clean water to drink comes in a bottle
Canada has 20% of the world’s fresh water Canada has only 0.5% of the worlds population
Canada has 20% of the world’s fresh water Canada has only 0.5% of the worlds population
Next time you have a drink of water….thank God!
Bless the Lord, O my soul,
And forget none of His benefits;
Bless the LORD, O my soul, and forget not all his benefits.
Giving thanks always and for everything to God the Father in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ.
always giving thanks for all things in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ to God, even the Father;
Giving thanks always and for everything to God the Father in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ.
Challenge! Get a notepad…rather lots of notepads, and start making a list of things you should be thankful for. Start writing them out.
Challenge! Get a notepad…rather lots of notepads, and start making a list of things you should be thankful for. Start writing them out.
Write down all the things God has done in your life and all the times God has answered your prayers. God always has a plan and when you go through trials read what you wrote and know He allows things to happen for a reason, He knows what is best.
Even if you did this every day for the rest of your life, your list would never be complete!
2. Why should we be thankful
Who is wise? Let him give heed to these things,
And consider the lovingkindnesses of the Lord.
Whoever is wise, let him attend to these things; let them consider the steadfast love of the LORD.
Continually draw near Him and remember without Christ you have nothing.
Continually draw near Him and remember without Christ you have nothing.
Every good thing given and every perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of lights, with whom there is no variation or shifting shadow.
In the book of Luke Chapter 17 verses 11-19 we are told of a specific instance where Jesus questions the thankfulness of people
Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of lights with whom there is no variation or shadow due to change.
In the book of Luke Chapter 17 verses 11-19 we are told of a specific instance where Jesus questions the thankfulness of people
Ten Lepers Cleansed
11 While He was on the way to Jerusalem, He was passing between Samaria and Galilee. 12 As He entered a village, ten leprous men who stood at a distance met Him; 13 and they raised their voices, saying, “Jesus, Master, have mercy on us!” 14 When He saw them, He said to them, “Go and show yourselves to the priests.” And as they were going, they were cleansed. 15 Now one of them, when he saw that he had been healed, turned back, glorifying God with a loud voice, 16 and he fell on his face at His feet, giving thanks to Him. And he was a Samaritan. 17 Then Jesus answered and said, “Were there not ten cleansed? But the nine—where are they? 18 Was no one found who returned to give glory to God, except this foreigner?” 19 And He said to him, “Stand up and go; your faith has made you well.”
Imagine for a moment, You’ve been an outcast from society
Everywhere you walked you would have to declare unclean unclean
You were separated from your family
Often the only community you had was others suffering the same affliction
You could not work, and the only food you would get was from begging
You lost everything and had nothing left, no hope, no cure …just waiting till the day you die.
Then you hear of a healer. Who has done some pretty amazing things
And there in front of Him was a man suffering from dropsy. And Jesus answered and spoke to the lawyers and Pharisees, saying, “Is it lawful to heal on the Sabbath, or not?” But they kept silent. And He took hold of him and healed him, and sent him away.
He healed a man of Dropsy (the limbs and body are distended with water called anasarca, depending generally on cardiac or renal disease, and the form confined to the abdomen, usually the result of liver infection.)
He healed a man of Dropsy (the limbs and body are distended with water called anasarca, depending generally on cardiac or renal disease, and the form confined to the abdomen, usually the result of liver infection.)
And He was teaching in one of the synagogues on the Sabbath.
And there was a woman who for eighteen years had had a sickness caused by a spirit; and she was bent double, and could not straighten up at all.
When Jesus saw her, He called her over and said to her, “Woman, you are freed from your sickness.”
And He laid His hands on her; and immediately she was made erect again and began glorifying God.
woman who for eighteen years had had a sickness caused by a spirit; and she was bent double, and could not straighten up at all.
woman who for eighteen years had had a sickness caused by a spirit; and she was bent double, and could not straighten up at all.
Fed 5000
Now the day was ending, and the twelve came and said to Him, “Send the crowd away, that they may go into the surrounding villages and countryside and find lodging and get something to eat; for here we are in a desolate place.”
But He said to them, “You give them something to eat!” And they said, “We have no more than five loaves and two fish, unless perhaps we go and buy food for all these people.”
(For there were about five thousand men.) And He said to His disciples, “Have them sit down to eat in groups of about fifty each.”
They did so, and had them all sit down.
Then He took the five loaves and the two fish, and looking up to heaven, He blessed them, and broke them, and kept giving them to the disciples to set before the people.
And they all ate and were satisfied; and the broken pieces which they had left over were picked up, twelve baskets full.
Deliverance
Then they sailed to the country of the Gerasenes, which is opposite Galilee.
And when He came out onto the land, He was met by a man from the city who was possessed with demons; and who had not put on any clothing for a long time, and was not living in a house, but in the tombs.
Seeing Jesus, he cried out and fell before Him, and said in a loud voice, “What business do we have with each other, Jesus, Son of the Most High God? I beg You, do not torment me.”
For He had commanded the unclean spirit to come out of the man. For it had seized him many times; and he was bound with chains and shackles and kept under guard, and yet he would break his bonds and be driven by the demon into the desert.
And Jesus asked him, “What is your name?” And he said, “Legion”; for many demons had entered him.
They were imploring Him not to command them to go away into the abyss.
Now there was a herd of many swine feeding there on the mountain; and the demons implored Him to permit them to enter the swine. And He gave them permission.
And the demons came out of the man and entered the swine; and the herd rushed down the steep bank into the lake and was drowned.
When the herdsmen saw what had happened, they ran away and reported it in the city and out in the country.
The people went out to see what had happened; and they came to Jesus, and found the man from whom the demons had gone out, sitting down at the feet of Jesus, clothed and in his right mind; and they became frightened.
Those who had seen it reported to them how the man who was demon-possessed had been made well.
Deliverance
Deliverance a man living in a cemetary
And a woman who had a hemorrhage for twelve years, and could not be healed by anyone,
came up behind Him and touched the fringe of His cloak, and immediately her hemorrhage stopped.
And Jesus said, “Who is the one who touched Me?” And while they were all denying it, Peter said, “Master, the people are crowding and pressing in on You.”
But Jesus said, “Someone did touch Me, for I was aware that power had gone out of Me.”
When the woman saw that she had not escaped notice, she came trembling and fell down before Him, and declared in the presence of all the people the reason why she had touched Him, and how she had been immediately healed.
And He said to her, “Daughter, your faith has made you well; go in peace.”
And a woman who had a hemorrhage for twelve years
And a woman who had a hemorrhage for twelve years
Jairus Daughter raised from the dead ;
Jairus Daughter raised from the dead
Jairus Daughter raised from the dead
You’ve heard all these stories about the amazing man that everyone is talking about
And a little hope starts to arise
Could he do it for me?
Could he heal my leprosy?
Would he be willing?
What do I have to loose, I’m going to find him
So you gather up 9 of your friends who each suffer with this horrendous disease
And set out to find Jesus
As He’s passing by you yell Out “Jesus, Master, have mercy on us!”
And He does,
Then He tells you to go show yourselves to the priest, as only they can declare you clean, so you can rejoin society
As you walking to the temple to find the priest
You notice the whiteness of your sores start turning pink again.
The bumps disappear
The soars are healed
Missing appendages grow back
Your healed!
My question is this, are you’re the 1 or the other 9
Do you go back to Jesus to give God glory
Or do you return to what you love most?
You see for the nine, I’m sure many of them went back to their families who they had separated from for a very long time
Some maybe started looking for work right away so they would not have to beg anymore
But you can almost see the disappointment in Jesus’s eyes when He askes
““Were there not ten cleansed? But the nine—where are they? 18 Was no one found who returned to give glory to God, except this foreigner?”
For us as humans we like to be thanked…right?
When we do something we appreciate when someone thanks us!
Am I the only one?
But I don’t think that was what Jesus was getting at
Rather I think Jesus saw what the other 9 lost when they did not return.
You see there are many benefits to be thankful
A. Thankfulness results in being content life.
12 I know what it is to be in need, and I know what it is to have plenty. I have learned the secret of being content in any and every situation, whether well fed or hungry, whether living in plenty or in want.
B. Encourages you to know that If He helped you before He will help you again. Phillipians 4:19 And my God will supply all your needs according to His riches in glory in Christ Jesus
C. It motivates us to look for His purpose in our circumstance. ().
D. Thanksgiving helps bring our will into submission to God. ().
E. It reminds us of our continual dependence upon the Lord. Pride, adequacy, and independence evaporate whenever we’re trapped in a situation that leaves us helpless and hopeless.If there’s no way out, thanking God for His control over all things reminds us that He alone is our strength.
a. If there’s no way out, thanking God for His control over all things reminds us that He alone is our strength.
F. Thankfulness is an essential ingredient for joy.There’s no way to “rejoice always” () without giving thanks in everything (v. 18). That’s why ungrateful people are so grumpy. Joy is an inner sense of contentment, which flows from a deep assurance that all God’s purposes are good and He’s in complete control of every situation. With that kind of supernatural joy, it’s easy to be thankful.
G. Thakfulness strengthens our witness to unbelievers. The world is filled with people who are angry, frustrated, and overwhelmed with the difficulties of life. But a believer with a thankful attitude is like a light shining in a dark place. The people around you will want to know why you don’t grumble and complain the way everyone else does. Then you can tell them about your amazing Savior.
H. Thanking God focuses our attention on Him rather than our circumstances. The key to a grateful heart begins with understanding the Lord’s character because knowing His awesome attributes motivates trust and gratitude. He knows exactly what you’re going through, loves you unconditionally, and understands you perfectly. When you thank Him in tough times, He gets bigger, and the circumstances become smaller.
I. Thanks gives us eternal perspective. The apostle Paul is an amazing example of a man who suffered extreme hardship yet remained thankful. That’s because he was able to see life from God’s perspective. In , he says our present suffering is “momentary light affliction.” If you’re going through a really hard time, those words may sound ridiculous. Maybe you’ve been dealing with pain your entire life, or a difficult trial has dragged on for decades. It hardly seems momentary or light. But Paul is comparing our situations here on earth with what’s awaiting us in eternity. For him, a 40-year stretch of pain and hardship was no match for the “eternal weight of glory” awaiting him (). What an amazing thought—your present pain has the potential to produce incomparable glory for you in heaven. Now that’s a big reason to thank God!
J. When we’re wearied by our circumstances, thanksgiving energizes us. Most of us can handle short trials, but if they continue for a long period of time, the emotional and physical strain is exhausting. Should ongoing illness, unresolved relational problems, or continued financial pressures become more than we can bear, it’s time to start thanking God because He has promised to give strength to the weary (). He’ll release His supernatural energy within us so we can patiently endure the trial and come out victorious on the other side.
K. Thankfulness transforms anxiety into peace, which passes all understanding (). I learned this principle through a very difficult experience. When I was feeling anxious about the situation, I discovered that complaining, getting angry, and arguing with God didn’t change my circumstances. Finally, in desperation, I began thanking Him. Only then did I receive His incomprehensible peace. My situation didn’t change for quite a while, but God’s peace guarded my heart all the way through that trying time
3. Thankfulness needs to be demonstrated in every circumstance
Rejoice always; pray without ceasing; in everything give thanks; for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus.
Rejoice always, pray without ceasing, give thanks in all circumstances; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you.
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