Thanksgiving: What's in Your Heart?
Notes
Transcript
In recent years, Capital Bank has run a very successful advertisement campaign with the tagline: “What is in your wallet?” Having the right credit card in your wallet can literally save you hundreds, if not thousands of dollars a year.
As important as this question is, it pales in comparison with this question, “What is in your heart?” Jesus said, “Out of the heart come evil thoughts, murder, adultery, sexual immorality, theft, false witness, slander” (Mt 15:19), and the most important thing we can have in our hearts to prevent such evil is thanksgiving. Just like a good credit card...
Thanksgiving Provides Fraud Protection
Thanksgiving Provides Fraud Protection
Arguably, fraud protection is the most important benefit of a credit card, it is without a doubt the most important for thanksgiving. The passage that most clearly highlights this benefit is Romans 1:18-23.
For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men, who by their unrighteousness suppress the truth. For what can be known about God is plain to them, because God has shown it to them. For his invisible attributes, namely, his eternal power and divine nature, have been clearly perceived, ever since the creation of the world, in the things that have been made. So they are without excuse. 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 man and birds and animals and creeping things.
Undoubtedly, idolatry is the root sin of all others. In Romans 1:21, Paul says idolatry manifest itself in two ways, “they did not honor him as God or give thanks to him”. By comparison, if we turn our attention to heaven and see worship in its most pure form, we discover that the elect angels and the glorified saints are continually offering to God both honor and thanksgiving. For example:
And all the angels were standing around the throne and around the elders and the four living creatures, and they fell on their faces before the throne and worshiped God, saying, “Amen! Blessing and glory and wisdom and thanksgiving and honor and power and might be to our God forever and ever! Amen.”
True thanksgiving acknowledges that we are created by God and daily sustained by His hand. Think of it like this: thanksgiving acts like fraud protection against the lie of idolatry, it is impossible to worship a false God when you are thankful to the true God.
This is why it is so important to examine to whom or to what we are giving our thanksgiving. It is possible to give our thanks to “mother nature” or to creation itself. The native Americans have a practice of thanking the dead animal they just killed for its life. Rather than acknowledging that God gave them success in their hunt, they believe the animal “presented itself” to them.
This is why services such as this are so important, it puts God front and center in our hearts and minds.
The second benefit of thanksgiving is this:
Thanksgiving is Universally Accepted
Thanksgiving is Universally Accepted
This is another important benefit of a credit card, as more and more businesses refuse to accept checks and sometimes even cash, having a credit card in your wallet, especially when traveling is a good idea. In a similar way, thanksgiving is universally accepted. We find this truth in Colossians 3:15-17:
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.
Three times in the span of just three verses Paul mentions thanks or thanksgiving. In Col 3:17, he says, “And what wherever you do, in word or deed, do everything in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him.” That is an amazing command when you think about it. In everything, without exception, we are to do it for Christ’s honor and glory, all the while giving thanks in His name!
Thanksgiving radically changes how we interact with creation. False religion creates restrictions, true religion gives freedom.
Now the Spirit expressly says that in later times some will depart from the faith by devoting themselves to deceitful spirits and teachings of demons, through the insincerity of liars whose consciences are seared, who forbid marriage and require abstinence from foods that God created to be received with thanksgiving by those who believe and know the truth. For everything created by God is good, and nothing is to be rejected if it is received with thanksgiving,
Nothing creates more joy and freedom in life than thanksgiving! Contrary to liberal propaganda, the Puritans were not dower and did not dress in black, they dressed in bright colors and enjoyed life to its fullest!
This brings us to the third benefit:
Thanksgiving Offers User Rewards
Thanksgiving Offers User Rewards
The rebates and discounts that some credit cards offer are nice perks, but again they cannot compare to the rewards thanksgiving offer. In Philippians 4:4-9 we read:
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.
Finally, brothers, whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is just, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is commendable, if there is any excellence, if there is anything worthy of praise, think about these things. What you have learned and received and heard and seen in me—practice these things, and the God of peace will be with you.
Many of you are probably already aware that the words joy and thanksgiving in the Greek language come from the same word group. Thanksgiving is literally “good joy”!
Anxiety is the great “kill joy” of not only our day, but of Paul’s day as well. What advice does he give? Combat anxiety with “prayer and supplication with thanksgiving”!
Just as thanksgiving protects us against idolatry, it also protects us against anxiety. In this passage, Paul urges us to fill our minds with good thoughts, what can be better than thanksgiving.
People speak of a person being a “glass half empty or full” type of person and there is some truth to this observation. Attitude makes tremendous difference in how we see the world, but Christianity offers so much more. Jesus said, “These things I have spoken to you, that my joy may be in you, and that your joy may be full” (John 15:11). The thankfulness that a Christian can have because of what Jesus has done for us, does not just fill our glass half way, but to overflowing! In Ephesians 1:23, Paul says the church is “the fullness of Him, who fills all in all”!
Conclusion: Don’t Leave Home Without It!
Conclusion: Don’t Leave Home Without It!
Decades ago, another credit card company, American Express, had another famous tagline, “Don’t leave home without it.” If this is true of a credit card, how much more true it is of thanksgiving. So as you carve your turkeys and watch your football games, don’t forget the most important ingredient for a successful Thanksgiving, thanksgiving itself!
