November 14, 2021: Thanksgiving 101: Thank The Lord For His Character

Thanksgiving Sermons – Message #2: Thank the Lord for His Character

MAIN IDEA

Learning to be grateful is about much more than just our immediate circumstances. We can’t let what’s going on in our lives determine the level of thanksgiving in our life. Remember, that just like the dinner blessing that we often call “Giving Thanks” for the food, thanksgiving is an outward action.

Today, we’re going to discuss God’s Character. let’s allow our thankfulness to spring from our understanding of God’s character.

VERSES

Habakkuk 13:17-18 (NIV)

Though the fig tree does not bud and there are no grapes on the vines, though the olive crop fails and the fields produce no food, though there are no sheep in the pen and no cattle in the stalls, 18 yet I will rejoice in the Lord, I will be joyful in God my Savior.

Hebrews 12: 26-29 (NIV)

26 At that time his voice shook the earth, but now he has promised, “Once more I will shake not only the earth but also the heavens.”[a] 27 The words “once more” indicate the removing of what can be shaken—that is, created things—so that what cannot be shaken may remain.

28 Therefore, since we are receiving a kingdom that cannot be shaken, let us be thankful, and so worship God acceptably with reverence and awe, 29 for our “God is a consuming fire.”

OUTLINE

When you dig into the back story of Habakkuk, you’ll quickly realize it’s a dark book. Israel’s reform-minded king Josiah has been killed, and the nation of Israel has slid back into sin and apostasy. The prophet Habakkuk struggles with God’s silence and His unwillingness to judge Israel.In Habakkuk’s third chapter, the prophet prays for God to revive His work in Israel. Toward the end of the of the prayer (v. 17-18), Habakkuk recognizes the potential hardships that will come with God’s judgment. Despite those difficulties, he resolves to take joy in God’s salvation. We tend to judge everything from our own limited perspective. Unless we have what we believe we should, we see no reason to be thankful. That’s not Habakkuk’s perspective. He tells us to have gratitude and show thankfulness even if we don’t have what we want—or need. We need to prioritize what God is doing in a situation over our own wants and needs. We can learn from Habakkuk to rejoice even during troubling times.Our ultimate source of thanksgiving should come from what God has revealed about himself in the Word and in the person of Jesus Christ:

His love

“God bestows His blessings without discrimination. The followers of Jesus are children of God, and they should manifest the family likeness by doing good to all, even to those who deserve the opposite.” –F.F. Bruce

John 8 (NLT): The Woman Caught in Adultery

6 They were trying to trap him into saying something they could use against him, but Jesus stooped down and wrote in the dust with his finger. 7 They kept demanding an answer, so he stood up again and said, “All right, but let the one who has never sinned throw the first stone!” 8 Then he stooped down again and wrote in the dust.

9 When the accusers heard this, they slipped away one by one, beginning with the oldest, until only Jesus was left in the middle of the crowd with the woman. 10 Then Jesus stood up again and said to the woman, “Where are your accusers? Didn’t even one of them condemn you?”

11 “No, Lord,” she said.

And Jesus said, “Neither do I. Go and sin no more.”

She deserved the opposite. She deserved condemnation and death. We deserve condemnation and death for our sins. And yet because Jesus loves us beyond what we can imagine, we get His grace.

One of my favorite passages of Scripture is found in Romans 8. 35-39, “35 Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall trouble or hardship or persecution or famine or nakedness or danger or sword? … 37 No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us. 38 For I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons,[b] neither the present nor the future, nor any powers, 39 neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord.

Never forget that Jesus Loves You! It’s a child’s song, yes. But it’s the most important principle in the entire world. And, as Jesus is God in the flesh, it is an important part of God’s character. Thank God that we get what what we don’t deserve in His love and not what we deserve in His justice!

His patience

“Quite honestly, most people are quick to “write someone off.” But our God is a God of the second chance. Learn from One who is patient with you, and you’ll learn to be patient with others.” –Woodrow Kroll

Have you ever known someone who knows how to be exceedingly patient with you? Human nature is to just cast someone aside who irritates us, and yet those people who care enough about us to put up with us are often those people that we learn that most from. That’s how it is with God.

I’ll never forget that my Uncle Henry was exceedingly patient. I used to cut his grass for more money than cutting it was probably worth at the time. I remember that when my mow lines were not perfect and I left bits of tall grass still sticking up, he would not make me go back and cut over them. He would always say, “Well, it’s good enough for government work!” I felt a lot better. And, it made me want to work harder because instead of receiving his immediate wrath, he was patient with me. He always had a gentle hand and yet got the job done. In recent years, my brother named his son after our Uncle Henry and there are other Henrys throughout the family, named for a beloved man who knew how to show, among other things, patience.

Jesus showed a lot of patience. When we deserved to be abandoned because He should have had enough, he was still there.

Zach Williams and Dolly Parton sing a beautiful song called “There Was Jesus.” There lyrics are so appropriate for how Jesus, God in the flesh, showed patience. He never abandons us nor leaves us alone:

Every time I tried to make it on my own Every time I tried to stand and start to fall And all those lonely roads that I have travelled on There was Jesus

When the life I built came crashing to the ground When the friends I had were nowhere to be found I couldn't see it then but I can see it now There was Jesus

In the waiting, in the searching In the healing and the hurting Like a blessing buried in the broken pieces Every minute, every moment Where I've been and where I'm going Even when I didn't know it or couldn't see it There was Jesus

For this man who needs amazing kind of grace (Mmm) For forgiveness at a price I couldn't pay (Mmm) I'm not perfect so I thank God every day There was Jesus

Patience is one of the ultimate character traits of God. Thank God that he is patient with us!

His salvation

“Since no man is excluded from calling upon God the gate of salvation is open to all. There is nothing else to hinder us from entering, but our own unbelief.” –John Calvin

Billy Graham tells the story of how he went to an evangelistic outreach with an Evangelist named Mordecai Ham. He felt the tugging of God to go forward and he made the decision to follow Jesus as His Lord and Savior and to receive the salvation only found in Jesus that night. Billy ended up bringing multitudes to saving faith in Jesus before his death.

November 22, 1991 at Epworth by the Sea in Strickland Auditorium, I accepted Jesus Christ as my Lord and Savior. It was by far the greatest day of my life, because I became aware of my Savior’s great love for me and for that I was a forever will be eternally thankful.

Jesus died on the cross for our sins and was raised on the third day. The tomb is empty. He achieved victory over death for us and now he wants everyone in the world to experience his saving grace.

Each Palm Sunday, we revisit the words the crowd shouted as Jesus entered Jerusalem on the colt. They shouted Hosannah! They needed a Savior. Thank God that He, Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, is the God who saves!

His sovereignty

“What does it really mean to affirm God’s sovereignty…? It means that God rules over all space and time and history. It means that He created the world for His glory and directs the cosmos to His purpose. It means that no one can truly thwart His plans or frustrate His determination. It means that we are secure in the knowledge that God’s sovereign purpose to redeem a people through the atonement accomplished by His Son will be fully realized.” –Al Mohler

I said in a recent sermon that I like to think of God as “the God whose got this.” There’s just something for me about knowing that God’s got this that means I don’t have to have it. He’s the God that is over all creation and yet near to everything that He’s created. And He’s got this.

He’s got the whole world in His hands. He’s got me and you in His hands. He’s got the pretty little babies in His hands. He’s got the whole world in His hands.

Thank God that He’s got this and He’s got you!

Summary

“Everything about God is great, vast, incomparable. He never forgets, never fails, never falters, never forfeits His word.”

–Arthur W. PinkAs we’re told in the book of Hebrews, we are receiving an unshakable kingdom (Heb. 12:26–29). Why is this coming kingdom so firm? Because the Author and Finisher of this kingdom is Himself unshakable. This means we can look past our immediate situation towards a kingdom that we’re inheriting—one we can trust is steadfast and trustworthy. This should cause thanksgiving to constantly well up within us.