Thankfulness
Notes
Transcript
Singing
I will enter his gates with thanksgiving in my heart
I will enter his courts with praise.
I will say this is the day that the Lord has made.
I will rejoice for he has made me glad.
He has made me glad!
He has made me glad!
I will rejoice for he has made me glad!
He has made me glad!
He has made me glad!
I will rejoice for he has made me glad!
This is the day, the Lord has made! I will rejoice and be glad in it.
Woo!
That song is based on Psalm 100:4-5
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.
I am so thankful that someone had the great wisdom to set aside a day for us as a nation to take a minute and be thankful. Now different presidents have done it, Washington, Lincoln, and you can argue about who chose to have a Thanksgiving Day, but God reminded us to do it first. He told us to be thankful always.
One of the things that thankfulness does is give us a chance to look back. It gives us a chance to stop, and look back and see what God has done.
I want us to share in a Psalm this morning of thanksgiving. It’s Psalm 136, and in that Psalm Israel is recounting what God has done for them, let’s pray it together. After each phrase your part is, “for his steadfast love endures forever.” I’m going to invite our worship team help me in this and lead you in that part.
Give thanks to the Lord, for he is good,
for his steadfast love endures forever.
Give thanks to the God of gods,
for his steadfast love endures forever.
Give thanks to the Lord of lords,
for his steadfast love endures forever;
to him who alone does great wonders,
for his steadfast love endures forever;
to him who by understanding made the heavens,
for his steadfast love endures forever;
to him who spread out the earth above the waters,
for his steadfast love endures forever;
to him who made the great lights,
for his steadfast love endures forever;
the sun to rule over the day,
for his steadfast love endures forever;
the moon and stars to rule over the night,
for his steadfast love endures forever;
to him who struck down the firstborn of Egypt,
for his steadfast love endures forever;
and brought Israel out from among them,
for his steadfast love endures forever;
with a strong hand and an outstretched arm,
for his steadfast love endures forever;
to him who divided the Red Sea in two,
for his steadfast love endures forever;
and made Israel pass through the midst of it,
for his steadfast love endures forever;
but overthrew Pharaoh and his host in the Red Sea,
for his steadfast love endures forever;
to him who led his people through the wilderness,
for his steadfast love endures forever;
to him who struck down great kings,
for his steadfast love endures forever;
and killed mighty kings,
for his steadfast love endures forever;
Sihon, king of the Amorites,
for his steadfast love endures forever;
and Og, king of Bashan,
for his steadfast love endures forever;
and gave their land as a heritage,
for his steadfast love endures forever;
a heritage to Israel his servant,
for his steadfast love endures forever.
It is he who remembered us in our low estate,
for his steadfast love endures forever;
and rescued us from our foes,
for his steadfast love endures forever;
he who gives food to all flesh,
for his steadfast love endures forever.
Give thanks to the God of heaven,
for his steadfast love endures forever.
God is good; all the time.
All the time; God is good.
I am so thankful for this book right here. (Hold up bible)
I especially enjoy the Psalms where David, and others pray out to God and they are so incredibly honest. There are times where the writers there are praying that their enemies just be wiped out. There are times when the author is in the midst of despair. There are times when the psalmist is angry with God; and there are times when the author is celebrating and excited about what God is doing.
And you know what, that’s just like us.
Some people seem to think that if you become a Christian, if you choose to follow God then everything is going to be hunky-dory. Well, if that’s true, then there are a lot of people throughout history that must’ve been doing it wrong. There are martyrs for the faith, people who have gone and done what we as good Christian folk would think was the right thing.
We sing the hymn, “It is Well” - one of my personal favorites. Written by Horatio Spafford, a successful attorney in Chicago. He was the father of four daughters, an active member of the Presbyterian church and a loyal friend of D.L. Moody and other evangelical leaders of his day. In 1871 the great Chicago fire wiped out his family’s extensive real estate investments.
Embarking on a trip for Great Britain for an evangelistic campaign, in 1873, he decided to lift the spirits of his family by taking them on a vacation to Europe.
He was detained by urgent business, but he sent his wife and four daughters as scheduled. Halfway across the Atlantic, the ship was struck by an English vessel and sang in 12 minutes. All four daughters were among the 226 who drowned. His wife miraculously survived. On the ship to Wales to rejoin his sorrowing wife, Spafford received sustaining comfort from God and was able to write, “When sorrows like sea billows roll..It is well with my soul.
I think of people like Jim Elliot, with four others went to the jungle of the Ecuador to reach a the Huaorani tribe with the message of the gospel. They were killed by members of that same tribe. You would have thought that was the end of it. But his wife returned to continue the work of her husband.
There are thousands of others. One much closer to my heart is my friend Pat Rhoades, who in his love for kids was travelling to Buck Creek camp to share the Gospel with a group of High School kids. Because he believed in sharing the Gospel AND being a good father, he took his family (his wife Laura, and three kids: Jennifer, Jacob, and Jessica) with him. While passing through Green Water, his mini van was struck by a pick-up that had crossed the center line. Jennifer was pronounced dead at the scene, and Jessica died later that night in the hospital. Jacob was physically unhurt.
And still these people can be thankful.
Paul wrote to the Philippian church:
do not be anxious about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God.
We read in 1 Th 5:16-18
Rejoice always, pray without ceasing, give thanks in all circumstances; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you.
Why would we be called to give thanks in all circumstances?
I think I began to understand this back after I completed my call to a church in Chattanooga. A friend had accompanied me on the long drive from Chattanooga, Tennessee to Auburn, Washington; then we’d spent several days enjoying the area. I showed him around where I’d grown up, we went skiing at Crystal Mtn. Then it was time for him to go back.
As I was leaving the airport, a sort of panic began to come over me. What now? Where would my next call be? What if I can’t find a call? What if I need to change careers? What if I can’t pay my bills? What if… What if… What if…?
I was getting more and more stressed out, and so I did what I’ve learned to do - I turned to God and prayed. I began to pray pouring out all my anxieties, my worries, and to be honest it wasn’t really helping. I seemed to be on a roll of how everything could go wrong. And then I believe God posed a question to me. “Why do you ask the ‘What if’s’ of the future, but never ask them of the past?”
I stopped.
What?
“Why do you ask the ‘What if’s’ of the future, but never ask them of the past?”
“Why do you ask the ‘What if’s’ of the future, but never ask them of the past?”
I began to think on that. I began to think of the “leaps of faith” or challenging times I’d gone through in the past.
What if...
I hadn’t moved to California to go to seminary?
I would have missed out on a great education.
I would have missed out on life long friends.
I would have missed out on serious faith stretching moments.
I would have missed out on so much!
What if I hadn’t moved away from family and friends to go to serve a church in Chattanooga?
I would have missed out on the discipleship of Dr. Edwin Byrd and Dr. Bob Watkin.
I would have missed out on more life long friends and colleagues in ministry.
I would have missed out on walking along side a mentor, friend, and colleague in his last days of life and ministry on this earth.
I would have missed out on opportunities to share the gospel with young friends and their families.
I would have missed out on painful times too, times that really hurt but I learned from.
Do you see what happened?
Like so many of the psalms we read, even the darkest ones, I’d gone from feeling overwhelmed and lost to found and trusting in one who is bigger than anything I was facing. Not everything I though of was what we would call a “positive” experience. Yet they all were a part of my unique life experience that were molding me for whatever God had for me.
When we take time to stop, and reflect on what God has done in our lives, we can’t help but be thankful and that gives us a lot of hope for the future.
Thankful people are hopeful people. Thankless people tend not to have hope.
Now faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen.
Let’s not let Thanksgiving be a once a year thing. Let’s make Thankfulness a part of who we are each and every day.
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.
We all need that peace, and our hearts and minds will be guarded, protected in Christ Jesus. AMEN?
AMEN!
Before I close here, I want to invite our worship team out here to help me with Psalm 136 again, this time with a distinctive Mission Woods Flair. I know you remember your part “for his steadfast love endures forever.” Listen to the words - they’ll be a bit different this time as we personalize this psalm a little bit today, remember your response is the same: “for his steadfast love endures forever.”:
Give thanks to the Lord, for he is good,
for his steadfast love endures forever.
Give thanks to the God of gods,
for his steadfast love endures forever.
Give thanks to the Lord of lords,
for his steadfast love endures forever;
to him who alone does great wonders,
for his steadfast love endures forever;
to him who by understanding made the heavens,
for his steadfast love endures forever;
to him who spread out the earth above the waters,
for his steadfast love endures forever;
to him who made the great lights,
for his steadfast love endures forever;
the sun to rule over the day,
for his steadfast love endures forever;
the moon and stars to rule over the night,
for his steadfast love endures forever;
It is he who remembered us in our low estate,
for his steadfast love endures forever;
and rescued us from our foes,
for his steadfast love endures forever;
he who gives food to all flesh,
for his steadfast love endures forever.
To him who has been with us throughout 2020;
for his steadfast love endures forever.
Who has walked with us throughout this pandemic;
for his steadfast love endures forever.
And continues to walk with us through an election process;
for his steadfast love endures forever.
To him who watches over us day and night;
for his steadfast love endures forever.
To him who has answered countless prayers;
for his steadfast love endures forever.
To him who has inspired us to serve in our community;
for his steadfast love endures forever.
Who has given us the means to support our foodbank;
for his steadfast love endures forever.
And help those who are in need;
for his steadfast love endures forever.
To him who walks with us through the celebrations of life;
for his steadfast love endures forever.
And is with us in the difficulties as well;
for his steadfast love endures forever.
To him who knows our suffering and pain;
for his steadfast love endures forever.
And allows our laughter and joy to warm the heart;
for his steadfast love endures forever.
To him who gave us the friendships of those who have passed this year,
for his steadfast love endures forever.
And allows their memory to bring a smile to our face,
for his steadfast love endures forever.
To him who has given us the ability to gather as a church;
for his steadfast love endures forever.
And blessed us with good weather on Sundays;
for his steadfast love endures forever.
For technology, radio antennae, and car radios;
for his steadfast love endures forever.
For internet, church websites, and Bible software;
for his steadfast love endures forever.
Give thanks to the Lord, for he is good,
for his steadfast love endures forever.
Give thanks to the God of gods,
for his steadfast love endures forever.
Give thanks to the Lord of lords,
for his steadfast love endures forever;
Give thanks to the God of heaven,
for his steadfast love endures forever.