Thanksgiving Song

Intro: Plenty to Be Thankful For (by Bing Crosby) [to 1:13]

Thanksgiving Song - Psalm 100

It’s good for us to be thankful for what we have, like Bing Crosby’s song says. But that alone can actually be pretty shallow without a deeper understanding and appreciation for the the Giver of what is truly best for us. “Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of lights” (James 1:17a).

Should not our very lives be a song of thanksgiving?

Read again...

Psalm 100 ESV

A Psalm for giving thanks. Make a joyful noise to the Lord, all the earth! Serve the Lord with gladness! Come into his presence with singing! Know that the Lord, he is God! It is he who made us, and we are his; we are his people, and the sheep of his pasture. Enter his gates with thanksgiving, and his courts with praise! Give thanks to him; bless his name! For the Lord is good; his steadfast love endures forever, and his faithfulness to all generations.

Should not our very lives be a song of thanksgiving as described in Psalm 100?

PRAY

What is Thanksgiving?

First, what is being thankful? What is gratitude?

Thankfulness/Gratitude =

Thankfulness/Gratitude is being conscious of benefit received. - Thankfulness is heartfelt appreciation to God in response to his goodness.

Thanksgiving =

Thanksgiving is the practice of expressing thankfulness to another, often in speech or with celebration. - So today we’re considering the importance of giving thanks to God, both as an expression of dependence on him and gratitude toward him.

So Hannah’s prayer in 1 Samuel was one of… Thanksgiving, right. God answered her prayer and gave her a son, and she gave him thanks in a celebratory song as well as with (what I would call) a sacrifice of thanksgiving. She and Elkanah expressed thankfulness to God by giving their son Samuel fully to the Lord’s service at the temple.

Another example I realized in this study this week: We celebrate birthdays as an expression of thanksgiving for the person and another year of life. Of course, we should most certainly also be celebrating with thankfulness to God for God giving us this person in our lives and his continued grace at work in their lives.

[REVIEW] Thankfulness is a response of heartfelt appreciation, and thanksgiving is the expression of that thankfulness (whether in speech or celebration or sacrifice) toward the object of that appreciation.

Opportunity for Growth!

I can guarantee you that we need to grow in gratitude! - Unless you’ve exhausted your knowledge of God and expression of his goodness, you need to grow more in gratitude.

Before I go any further, I think I need to help us see how ungrateful we can be! (How dangerous, divisive, and soul-burdening it is to have an attitude of ingratitude...)

Do you tend to notice that it’s too hot or too cold in a building and feel kinda grumpy about that and wonder who’s responsible? Or are you a bit grumpy when people change things up and don’t quite do it the way you’re used to? I believe the source of that is ingratitude.

Do you find it easier to talk about people’s good qualities or bad qualities?

Are you kind of sharp and cutting about the foolish decisions that other people make? I believe the source of that is ingratitude.

Are you rebelling against your parents? I believe the source of that is ingratitude.

Jealous? Coveting? - Ingratitude.

Your attitude toward leadership that makes you complain about the stuff they do and think that you know better? I believe the source of it is ingratitude.

Are you letting worry about finances consume your thoughts? I believe the source of it is ingratitude. You need to be truly grateful to God that he can be trusted to care for your needs...

Are you tired of fighting the same battle over and over again with a child? Or tired of the messes they make? Or tired of the same old routine tasks day after day. I believe the source of that is ingratitude to God.

Do you know what the cure is? This attitude right here: Amazing Grace, how sweet the sound, that saved a wretch like me. I once was lost, but now I’m found, was blind but now I see. - The underlying attitude behind such words is true gratitude, which in then expressed in thanksgiving.

What the maturity of our faith often lacks is deeper thankfulness, greater gratitude. - We want our very lives to be a song of thanksgiving because our God is worthy of nothing less. So let’s put our minds to work this morning considering the importance of this attitude and how can we grow in thanksgiving.

The Importance of Thanksgiving

Why is gratitude so important? …besides what we’ve already expressed as the detrimental impact of being ungrateful… - Let me be so bold as to say: Thankfulness is one of the single most important attitudes of the Christian life. My goal today is to convince us of the critical importance of gratitude in the Christian life. Let me give you three major reasons why expressing thankfulness is so important: [list first, then discuss]

Thanksgiving corresponds to a true response of saving faith in Jesus.

Thanksgiving directly reflects our knowledge of and appreciation for God.

Thanksgiving impacts our maturity and effectiveness for God.

Thanksgiving corresponds to a true response of saving faith in Jesus.

Allow me to illustrate this from Luke 17. In a passage there Jesus heals 10 lepers, and only one returns to express thanksgiving to his healer. *How important is this gratitude? - Listen to the episode and pay close attention to the last part of it:

Luke 17:11–19 ESV

On the way to Jerusalem he was passing along between Samaria and Galilee. And as he entered a village, he was met by ten lepers, who stood at a distance and lifted up their voices, saying, “Jesus, Master, have mercy on us.” When he saw them he said to them, “Go and show yourselves to the priests.” And as they went they were cleansed. Then one of them, when he saw that he was healed, turned back, praising God with a loud voice; and he fell on his face at Jesus’ feet, giving him thanks. Now he was a Samaritan. Then Jesus answered, “Were not ten cleansed? Where are the nine? Was no one found to return and give praise to God except this foreigner?” And he said to him, “Rise and go your way; your faith has made you well.”

There is a direct connection between this healed Samaritan’s saving faith and his gratitude for not only the gift but the Giver of the gift. It had the impact on him of causing him to worship Jesus—on his face before him, giving him thanks. And Jesus accepts that worship and even describes it as “giv[ing] praise to God.” - Notice the result of this man’s thanksgiving... for the result of physical healing but also especially his worship of the Healer. The result was Christ proclaiming to this man that his faith gave him spiritual healing. The text literally reads “your faith has saved you.”

This is far from the only time that Jesus spoke in the context of healing about his power to forgive sins and make the recipient of faith spiritually healed. But what makes this particular episode so poignant for our purposes is its emphasis on the grateful response in connection with saving faith. The one who is saved from more than his physical leprosy is the one who fully recognizes the Healer as the one to be celebrated, to be worshiped.

This is how critical gratitude is: Thanksgiving corresponds to a true response of saving faith in Jesus.

Thanksgiving directly reflects our knowledge of and appreciation for God.

Let’s look more closely at our central text, Psalm 100.

This is the last in a set of enthronement psalms, celebrating God’s sovereign rule as King over all the heavens and the earth (Psalms 93 & 95-100): Psalm 95:3

Psalm 95:3 ESV

For the Lord is a great God, and a great King above all gods.

God is enthroned on high! (Is he enthroned in your heart? Who sits on the throne of your heart?) - Psalm 100 culminates this group of Psalms with Praise and Thanksgiving to God for his universal rule and his goodness to his people and to all the earth. We enter the presence of the supreme and benevolent King with Thanksgiving!

Verses 1,2,&4 have the celebratory commands to praise and give thanks, and vv. 3&5 have the WHY of praise & thanksgiving. Yes, verse 3 is a command too, but it really is the overarching command to comprehend why we praise the Lord with our mouths, our sacrifices, our lives.

v. 3 Why - Who He is:

Know (with the sense of experiencing him and being confidently assured of who he is) - that Yahweh (the covenant God of Israel - the name God gave to them thru Moses), he is Elohim (the one true God).

He is the Creator who has made us (and not ourselves)

And he has made us his own, a people for his own possession… whom he, as the great Shepherd-King, cares for in his perfect provision and guides in his perfect wisdom and guards in his almighty hand.

If we know God for who he is, then we have every reason to respond according to the instruction of the Psalm:

v. 1 Our lives should shout the goodness of God. (that’s the term here, just like raising a battle cry in unison)

Psalm 96:2–3 ESV

Sing to the Lord, bless his name; tell of his salvation from day to day. Declare his glory among the nations, his marvelous works among all the peoples!

v. 2a Our lives should joyfully serve the Lord. - not ourselves… and not “stuff” - I serve amongst you in our church family with great joy, and I think you can tell it. Most of the time you guys make it a great joy… most of the time I experience the benefit of such service… but the true joy comes in knowing that such Christian service, whatever the trials and whether the benefit is seen or unseen, the true joy is in knowing the God whom we serve. So we serve the Lord with gladness.

v. 2b Because of who He is and what He has done, we not only have access to his presence (his face), but we therefore do so with not only reverential awe but also here with joyful song! - Our lives should carry the joyous melody of God’s saving work!

Psalm 98:1–4 ESV

Oh sing to the Lord a new song, for he has done marvelous things! His right hand and his holy arm have worked salvation for him. The Lord has made known his salvation; he has revealed his righteousness in the sight of the nations. He has remembered his steadfast love and faithfulness to the house of Israel. All the ends of the earth have seen the salvation of our God. Make a joyful noise to the Lord, all the earth; break forth into joyous song and sing praises!

Does your life carry the joyous melody of God’s saving work?

Now, Similarly to v. 3 being the foundation for 1&2, so v. 5 is for v. 4.

v. 5 Why - Who He is:

For the Lord is good - Yes the Lord is a holy righteous and just king (you can see that in Psalm 99:4-5), but here it means that he is beautiful and pleasing to behold, worthy of high esteem and respect.

- You know that response generated in you when you observe the glory of the Lord even in his creation? I have sat some places and observed God’s natural beauty, and I didn’t get tired of taking it all in.

- Or you know that reaction when you meet a young lady who is easy on the eyes and her sweet demeanor immediately peaks your interest, and the more you get know her and observe her, she only becomes more beautiful in your eyes?

Multiply that exponentially in consideration of the Lord’s beauty to behold. The more you behold him, the more in awe you will be and the more you will want to behold him!

His loyal love is everlasting - This is the Hebrew word hesed, which […] comes from their word for stork. The Hebrews noticed how storks had an uncommon love for and protection of their young. (Steve Cole) - God is beautiful to behold and has an unfailing love and…

Generation after generation (more literally), he is faithful. - God is steadfast, trustworthy, reliable.

Everything around us grows old and wears out, but God’s faithfulness is immovable and steadfast and unchanging. No matter what happens in your life, God is faithful. Whatever happens in the world around you, God is faithful.

Knowing that the one-true God, the great Shepherd-King watches over us, we respond to him according to his goodness, lovingkindness, and faithfulness:

v. 4 These are the very qualities for which we praise him as we enter the city and the temple of worship. - Through Jesus, do we any longer have to enter a place with gates and a courtyard to worship in the presence of the Lord? - Who is the fulfillment of the OT type of the tabernacle and the temple to enter the presence of God? Jesus. Through Jesus you have access to the one true God, who is infinitely good to behold, perfect in his lovingkindness, and unwaveringly faithful through all generations. We express our gratitude in thanksgiving!

So we give thanks to him in v. 4c, conceived of as of throwing, casting our praise in celebration. And we bless his name (his fame, his renown, his reputation based on his character, pictured as of kneeling down in declaring his praises).

Our lives should be marked by regular and repeated thanksgiving to God, with an awareness of his very presence and his reputation.

Our lives should, at all times and in all ways, declare the glory and splendor of God.

Psalm 96:7–9 ESV

Ascribe to the Lord, O families of the peoples, ascribe to the Lord glory and strength! Ascribe to the Lord the glory due his name; bring an offering, and come into his courts! Worship the Lord in the splendor of holiness; tremble before him, all the earth!

So… [Review three points]

Thanksgiving impacts our (and the Church’s) maturity and effectiveness for God.

[If time is limited (which it probably will be) ask them to consider on their own: How does thanksgiving impact your prayer, your worship, and your spiritual growth and gospel proclamation? Use these verses to help…]

Prayer - Php 4:4-7

Philippians 4:4–7 ESV

Rejoice in the Lord always; again I will say, rejoice. Let your reasonableness be known to everyone. The Lord is at hand; do not be anxious about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God. And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.

Without thanksgiving our prayers will be off base. We express thankfulness to God so that our prayers are rightly motivated and have right expectation—that God can and will give us what is best for us and that he is good in his character, loyal in his love for us, and forever faithful.

Worship - Heb 12:28

Hebrews 12:28 ESV

Therefore let us be grateful for receiving a kingdom that cannot be shaken, and thus let us offer to God acceptable worship, with reverence and awe,

Whether corporately or privately, our worship is informed by our appreciation for God making us his own through his son Jesus Christ and giving us the certainty of serving a kingdom greater than this world that will one day reach its full completion. With gratitude, we rightly express our worship for him in speech and action with the reverence and awe that is fitting for his kingdom.

Spiritual Growth and Gospel Proclamation - unity, one-anothering, listening and learning, praising in song** - Col 3:15-17 - Like a hard frost to flowers is an ungrateful heart to spiritual sensitivity and fruitfulness.

Colossians 3:15–17 ESV

And let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts, to which indeed you were called in one body. And be thankful. Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly, teaching and admonishing one another in all wisdom, singing psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, with thankfulness in your hearts to God. And whatever you do, in word or deed, do everything in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him.

Unity of the Christian body, v. 15. Gratitude for the peace we have with God through Christ is the glue of the team.

What is the underlying spirit pervading us as we let the word of Christ dwell in us richly so that we can rightly teach and warn one another and to have a right perspective on worshiping God together in song? Thankfulness is the secret sauce, the attitude for right one-anothering, for right corporate worship expressed in song… and for creating the fertile soil for the word of Christ to take deep root and be effective in us.

And what is the overarching attitude and practice we need to keep in front of us in all things that we aim to do for the glory of God, whether in word or deed? Giving thanks to God through Jesus as we seek to never do things in our own strength or for our own purposes, but only for him.

Thanksgiving impacts your prayer, your growth, your service, your relationships… even your health.

We want our lives to be...

Living Sacrifices of Thanksgiving:

What will you think, pray, and do differently to grow in showing gratitude?

- Lord, show me more of yourself.

- Lord, show me my ingratitude.

- Confess the sin or ungratefulness (with specificity). [Lord, I confess that I’ve been ungrateful for my wife and to her. Lord, I confess that I’ve been ungrateful for my job, my health, my trials at your sovereign hand… etc.]

- With God’s help, go after the biggest bull. (the person or area hardest for you to behave gratefully towards. Confess it to them if its appropriate to do so, and express gratitude.)

- Spend more time giving thanks to God for who he is. Be as specific as you can.

- When thanking God for his gifts, tie that back to his character. (love God through the gifts… that way you can love God through his provision as well as seeing suffering as a mercy from his hand)

- Celebrate His goodness often. - Let the world and those around you know how grateful you are for the privilege to know God and belong to him.

Close with Psalm 100 again...

Psalm 100 ESV

A Psalm for giving thanks. Make a joyful noise to the Lord, all the earth! Serve the Lord with gladness! Come into his presence with singing! Know that the Lord, he is God! It is he who made us, and we are his; we are his people, and the sheep of his pasture. Enter his gates with thanksgiving, and his courts with praise! Give thanks to him; bless his name! For the Lord is good; his steadfast love endures forever, and his faithfulness to all generations.