THANKSGIVING AS WORSHIP

Introduction

-I read a story about a successful businessman who had 175 employees working for his company. One Thanksgiving to show them his appreciation for the work they had done for him, he decided to buy each and every one of them a choice turkey for the holiday out of his own pocket at great personal expense. After doing this great act of kindness, he told some of his friends that out of 175 employees who received the turkeys, only four ever thanked him. Two thanked him by note and two said “thank you” when they happened to pass him through the hall. He went on to tell his friends that because of their thanklessness he would never go out of his way for them again.

-This story is a good reflection of human nature. It shows that we are ungrateful because we do not understand the value and great expense for the blessings given to us.

-Let’s face it; there are many who receive a gift which took much time and effort and money on the part of the gift-giver, and the child greedily takes the gift, maybe plays with it a little bit, then tosses it aside to move on to the next gift and never even looks back at the giver because they have not considered or maybe they do not understand the value of what was given to them.

-And as rude as we think it is here on earth, how much more so when we do it to God Who gave everything for us—do we not understand the price that was paid for us, that Christ spilt His own precious blood—something more valuable than all the silver and gold in the world

-Understanding the value of what has been given us leads to expression of thanksgiving, recognizing the worth of what was given and the worth of the One Who gave it to us.

-And that is why there is a great bond between Thanksgiving and worship—because worship is showing and declaring God’s eternal worth—thanksgiving is also acknowledging the worth of God’s existence and actions.

-So this week I want us to look at Thanksgiving a little differently—it isn’t just about family, food and football—neither is Thanksgiving just a holiday or day off of work—it is not just a feeling of gratefulness that comes and goes----thanksgiving is an expression of worship where we recognize the value and worth of our God and His actions on our behalf

Psalm 100 ESV

A Psalm for giving thanks. 1 Make a joyful noise to the Lord, all the earth! 2 Serve the Lord with gladness! Come into his presence with singing! 3 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. 4 Enter his gates with thanksgiving, and his courts with praise! Give thanks to him; bless his name! 5 For the Lord is good; his steadfast love endures forever, and his faithfulness to all generations.

-there are 3 ways mentioned as to how thanksgiving is expressed as worship

I) Thanksgiving through Adoration (vv. 1-2)

-in verses 1-2 the psalmist encourages the readers to outwardly express praise to God for no other reason other than He is God and He is worth it.

-First, we express adoration:

A) Through verbal acclimation (vv. 1, 2b)

-verse 1 calls us to shout joyfully to the Lord—the word was sometimes used of the shouting of joy and cheer after the victory in battle.

-Sometimes it is good to express cheer and joy in worship in light of the fact that our God has defeated our greatest enemies at the cross.

-Sin and death and hell have been conquered, and we come together to celebrate that fact; so a little shouting joyfully every once in a while shows we recognize the true value and impact of Christ’s death, and we want to celebrate it----thanksgiving is a great time to do some joyful shouting, because we express our gratitude for God gaining a victory we never could do on our own.

-The other verbal acclimation mentioned in verse 2b is joyful singing—for people like me it might be more like a joyful noise—but the emphasis is not on the beauty of the song, but the purpose of the song==the term was used when Israel would sing for joy at the saving acts of God

-what more do we need to sing for joy at thanksgiving=God through Christ removed us out of the sinful nature of Adam and placed us in Christ, and we reap the benefits of Christ’s redeeming work—this ought to put a song in our hearts

-but there is also adoration shown:

B) Through active ministry (v. 2a)

-verse 2 says: Serve the LORD with gladness! —worship is not just verbal, but active—it is not trying to gain a spiritual high, but to encourage us to service.

-That word for serve was used of ministry the priests would do in the temple for the sake of the Lord—so in Thanksgiving as Worship, we adore God by ministering to Him—how do we minister to God? By giving to Him our whole life; surrendering our all—that is why the apostle Paul Romans 12:1 I appeal to you therefore, brothers, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to God, which is your spiritual worship. (Rom. 12:1 ESV) ----it is the ministry of worship

-so this thanksgiving, adore God through your verbal acclimation of joy and praise, but also adore Him through a life that is completely presented to God, nothing being held back, ministering to God through everything that makes you you

II) Thanksgiving through Apprehension (v. 3)

-Apprehension means to come to a fuller understanding of Who God is—allowing God through His Word to reveal Himself as He truly is, and not approach God with preconceived notions of Who we want Him to be

-this Thanksgiving, let God speak for Himself through His Word—but it’s hard to come to Thanksgiving as Worship if you know nothing of the one Whom you are to worship and be thankful for

-so, to worship God, come to understand 3 things:

A) Apprehend that He alone is God (v. 3a)

-the first part of v. 3 says: Know that the LORD, he is God! —Know by experience and complete assurance that the God of the Bible is the only God that exists, and He alone is supreme.

-To put this into practice, this means all other allegiances to anything or anybody else to whom we may have given supremacy in our lives is to be tossed to the side, and God is given preeminence----But the greatest allegiance we must toss aside is the allegiance to ourselves.

-I am reminded of the Steven Curtis Chapman song that says, “God is God and I am not”—we like to be captain of our own ship, but in doing so we usurp the role that belongs to God alone—again, in his song, Steven goes on to remind us that “God is God and I am man”—do you really think that a finite, dying, mortal human being can do a better job of running your own life much less the entire universe than the Eternal, Immortal, Invisible, Omnipotent, Omniscient, Omnipresent God?

-This Thanksgiving, worship God by apprehending that God is God and you are not, so stop trying to be

B) Apprehend that He alone is Creator (v. 3b)

-The middle part of v. 3 says: It is he who made us, and we are his —apprehend and understand that we are who we are because of God, we did not make ourselves—this goes against our culture and our natural inclinations.

-In the world of the American dream, there is great respect given to the Self-Made Man—there was actually a lecture given by a philosopher in the 1800’s entitled Self Made Man that gave feet to the idea that somehow man determines his own destiny and he alone can make himself out to be something

-As the lecture said, self-made men: are what they are, without the aid of any of the favoring conditions by which other men usually rise in the world and achieve great results.—that is, men who need no outside help to make something of themselves.

-This idea is alive and well today, as mankind declares its independence from anybody and everything, believing it is by their hard work and dogged determination alone that gets them where they are going.

-But a life lived with the idea of being independent of God is a life that cuts itself off from the only stable sustaining force of the universe.

-This thanksgiving apprehend that God is Creator—this means we are not autonomous… not self-sufficient—means “We are the creation and therefore dependent upon Him for everything”—make a declaration of dependence on God

C) Apprehend that He alone is Shepherd (v. 3c)

-the last part of v. 3 says: we are his people, and the sheep of his pasture.—we recognize that we are the sheep, God is the Shepherd—this imagery shows us the loving, intimate care that God has for His people.

-We learn from His Word that when we were in the most pitiful spiritual state possible, He loved us, cared for us, nurtured us by sending His Son not only to die, but to live so that through Him we might live as well.

-God cares enough to give us true life, the abundant life, the life in Christ so that we know that no matter the circumstances we face, He is there caring for us—we may not feel it, it may not seem like it, but the Bible promises it.

-Worship Him through thanksgiving, understanding the care of your Heavenly Shepherd, whom the prophet says: Isaiah 40:11 He will tend his flock like a shepherd; he will gather the lambs in his arms; he will carry them in his bosom, and gently lead those that are with young. (Isa. 40:11 ESV)

-This Thanksgiving show God His value to you by coming to a greater apprehension of Who He is: He is God…your Creator…your Shepherd

-Finally today, was celebrate:

III) Thanksgiving through Acknowledgement (vv. 4-5)

-We give thanksgiving as worship when we acknowledge what He has done--and what He does stems from Who He is.

A) Acknowledge His Good Character (v. 5a)

-The first part of v. 5 says: For the LORD is good —God is good all the time, and all the time GOD IS GOOD—by stating this, the psalmist identifies God as the source of all that is good in life--James 1:17 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. (Jas. 1:17 ESV)

-God’s character is by nature good, based on His holiness and love—what He gives to undeserving sinners is good grace—in fact, if you have life and breath, it came from God—if you have shelter and food, it came from God—and most importantly if you have been delivered from sin and hell, it came from God—you might not have everything you want, but He gives you everything you need, and He gives it not because you deserve it, but He gives it because He is good.

-No other religion in the world can say they have a good God—the Islamic god is hateful, the pagan gods are petty and merely humans with superpowers.

-But our God has a nature that is perfect and good; even in the face of humans rebelling against Him and His standards and His holiness, our God still loves mercy and compassion

-Thanksgiving as Worship acknowledges the goodness of our God and the fact that everything that you have that is good in your life comes from His hand…

B) Acknowledge His Everlasting Love (v. 5b)

-The middle part of v. 5 says: his steadfast love endures forever —the word for steadfast love is the Hebrew word CHESED which means a loyal love that God shows to His people based upon the relationship that He has nurtured with them.

-As 1 author puts it, this speaks of His merciful willingness to unite Himself with humanity—of all the blessing God has bestowed upon us, the greatest blessing of all is Himself as He gave Himself through His Son Jesus Christ.

-because of CHESED love, Christ unites Himself with His people; He resides within believers through His Holy Spirit and His people reside in Him through their identity with Him.

-because God is perfect in loyalty, this CHESED love will never be taken away—He has bound Himself to us through the covenant sealed by the blood of Jesus, and He will never revoke or abandon His promise…

C) Acknowledge His Enduring Faithfulness (v. 5c)

-The last part of v. 5 talks about his faithfulness to all generations.—some versions say truth, but faithfulness is best—the words speaks of firmness and steadiness, something or someone that never wavers or is moved by circumstance.

-Our God is firm in His character and nature—He can never deny Himself—when God makes a promise and covenant with His people, He sees it through to the end.

-Our God is faithful and will be for all of time and eternity—when He says He will never leave us nor forsake us He means every bit of that.

-So worship Him through thanksgiving, resting assured that He will fulfill all the promises He gives in His Word.

Conclusion

-Let me ask you—do you understand the value of Who God is and what He has done for you—if you would, this Thanksgiving will be completely different for you because you will be driven to worship Him through thanksgiving

-To help you understand a little of the value of Christ’s sacrifice, which leads to thanksgiving:

Imagine you are driving down the road and your car stalls at a railroad crossing. You are understandably nervous as you try to start the car's engine, but you become even more so when you see a train turn the corner in the distance and begin quickly closing the gap between it and you.

-The train engine's horn is blaring and the engineer has thrown on the brakes, but you are too close and he's coming too fast. You move from trying to get the car to start to trying to unfasten your seatbelt, but fear has made your hands stiffen and shake. You can't get your seatbelt unfastened. The train is rushing toward you, and you know you're going to be hit. All of sudden a man in a truck behind you decided to ram into your car and push you off the tracks, even as he is destroyed by the impact in the very spot you once occupied.

-You get out of the car, shaken and still frightened. You are terrified by the gruesome scene, in shock over your rescuer's sacrifice. You are grateful in a way that you've never been grateful before. Even in your terrified awe, it feels good to be alive. You feel woozy, so you sit down on the trunk of your car, and as you're trying to retrieve your cell phone from your pocket to call 911 and marveling at how little damage the violent shove did to the rear bumper, you hear a whimper come from inside your trunk.

You didn't know that before you'd left the house, as your kids were playing hide-and-seek, your youngest son decided to hide in the trunk of your car. As you open it up frantically and discover that he is miraculously unharmed, you suddenly realize the total greatness of the loss you almost suffered. You are given a new, greater form of thanksgiving, truly understanding the value of the sacrifice of the man who took your place.

-If you truly understood what Christ saved you from, thanksgiving as worship would be more than a once a year thing…{GOSPEL}

-Christian, come to the altar today and worship Him through thanksgiving, being grateful for the great price that He paid, recognizing His value==express your adoration; apprehend that He is your God, Creator, and Shepherd; acknowledge His work in your life

-There may be some here, though, that have nothing to give Thanksgiving to because you have never been set free from the shackles of sin, death and hell…