I read a news story once of a woman who was getting ready to jump off a 44 story building in New York City.
Witnesses said that she did not look like the type of person who would do such a thing. She was very distinguished and well dressed.
All the attempts made by the police to get the woman off the ledge had failed.
One of the officers asked if he could call his pastor in to see if he could help. When the pastor arrived, he asked permission to go to the ledge and talk to the woman.
As the pastor neared the edge the woman screamed, “Don’t come any closer or I’ll jump!”
The pastor took a step back and then said, “I am sorry that you believe no one loves you.”
This got the woman’s attention and it got the attention of the police. That was something that you don’t usually say to a person who is threatening suicide.
The woman took a step towards the pastor and said, “My grandchildren love me and so does my children. My whole family loves me! I have 8 wonderful grandchildren and they love me.”
The pastor took a step towards the woman and said, “Well then, you must be very poor, maybe that is why you want to take your own life.”
The woman who was a little overweight said, “Do I look like I go without any meals? We live in a very nice apartment. I’m not poor.”
The pastor took another step closer to her and was now 3 feet from her when he asked, “Then why do you want to kill yourself? I don’t understand.”
The woman thought for a moment and then said, “You know, I don’t really remember.”
The story ends with the pastor and the woman walking towards the elevator as she shows him pictures of her grandchildren. Eventually this woman becomes a volunteer on the city’s suicide hotline, helping others choose life.
What did the pastor do to help this woman?
He helped her get her eyes off her problems and onto the many ways that God had blessed her.
She learned a valuable lesson that day. She learned that thankful people are happy people.
If you don’t learn anything else today, I hope you learn this valuable lesson. Thankful people are happy people.
Father,
Open my eyes so I can see Your truth.
Open my ears so I can hear Your voice.
Open my mind so I can understand Your Word.
And open my heart so I may receive all that You want me to receive.
AMEN
I can hardly believe that 2010 is nearly gone!
The next time we get together as a church it will be 2011!
I said at the beginning of 2010 that this year would be a year of untold potential. That could have meant a multitude of things. To be sure, 2010 was an interesting year.
There were many good things that happened and there were some not so good things that happened, but through it all God remained constant.
Sometimes people lose sight of all that God is doing for us, in us and around us. We lose sight because we get so caught up in our own lives that we miss God’s activities. When we miss God’s activities we tend to be less thankful.
I want you to turn your attention to Psalm 95. We are not told who wrote this Psalm but as we read it I think you will understand that the person who wrote it had the right idea. This person was a happy person. They understood as they wrote this psalm that thankful people are happy people.
READ Psalm 95:1-7a
1 Come, let us sing for joy to the LORD; let us shout aloud to the Rock of our salvation. 2 Let us come before him with thanksgiving and extol him with music and song. 3 For the LORD is the great God, the great King above all gods. 4 In his hand are the depths of the earth, and the mountain peaks belong to him. 5 The sea is his, for he made it, and his hands formed the dry land. 6 Come, let us bow down in worship, let us kneel before the LORD our Maker; 7 for he is our God and we are the people of his pasture, the flock under his care. Psalm 95:1-7a NIV
The author of this Psalm did not allow his own situations to change his decision to be thankful to God for all that God has done and for all that God is going to do.
That is good for the author of Psalm 95 but what about us?
We all have a lot going on in our lives right?
How can we make sure that we are always going to be thankful people so that we can be happy people throughout life?
The key for us today to be thankful people is to keep our eyes on Jesus Christ.
The author of Hebrews tells us to do this in Hebrews 12:1-3.
1 Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses, let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles, and let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us. 2 Let us fix our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy set before him endured the cross, scorning its shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God. 3 Consider him who endured such opposition from sinful men, so that you will not grow weary and lose heart. Hebrews 12:1-3 NIV
It is through Jesus Christ that we have the ability to be called the people of God’s pasture, the flock under His care.
It is through Jesus Christ that we can have access to the heart of God.
It is through Jesus Christ that we have the promise of eternal life and the forgiveness of sins.
It is through Jesus Christ that we can be healed.
Jesus is the key to our thankfulness and our happiness.
As 2010 comes to an end and 2011 begins let us keep our eyes on Jesus.
To do so let us remember and be thankful for some key facts about our Savior.
1. Let us remember and be thankful for His preeminent position.
There are just over 100 titles for our Savior in the Word of God.
Listen to some of them… Almighty, Alpha & Omega, Bread of God, Chief Corner Stone, Chief Among Ten-thousand, Deliverer, Eternal Life, Firstborn Over All Creation, Great High Priest, Holy & True, I Am, Judge of the Living and the Dead, King of Kings, Lord of Lords, Mighty God, Only Begotten Son of God, Power of God, Ruler, Savior, Truth, and Word of God.
Every title that Jesus holds speaks of his preeminent position as the Son of God, the Savior of the World, The One who was and is and shall be. Jesus is the one who sits at the right hand of the Father, waiting for the day when God commands Him to come and get His church.
His titles speak of more than His position; they also speak of His power.
2. Let us remember and be thankful for the power of Christ.
There are three words that best describe the power of God.
Omnipotence, Omniscience, and Omnipresence.
Omnipotence means that He is all powerful. Jesus is God therefore Jesus possesses the full power of God.
It is a power to be raised from the dead. It is a power that holds victory over the enemy. It is the power to heal. It is the power over temptation.
It is the ultimate power of God that flows through Jesus and is available to all who are called by His name.
Omniscience means that He is all knowing. He knows the seen and the unseen. He knows what we do in public and in private. He knows what we say and what we think.
Omnipresence means that He is everywhere. He is so powerful that He can be at your house and my house at the same time!
Thank God for the power of Jesus!
Without the power of Christ we could not be saved and healed and strengthened and provided for.
Because of the power of Christ nothing is impossible for those who believe!
3. Let us remember and be thankful for His Words.
When I talk about His Words, I am talking about the Word of God and everything contained within it.
I am talking about the Old Testament and the New Testament. I am talking about the history, the poets, the prophets, and everything else.
The reason these are so important is because they are a lamp unto our feet and a light unto our pathway. They show us how we should live. They show us the way to God. They bring to us His promises and show us His faithfulness and love for us, a love that endures forever.
By keeping our eyes focused on Jesus and by remembering these things about Him and by being thankful for all these things we will be able to be happy people.
By keeping our eyes focused on Jesus and by remembering these things about Him and by being thankful for all these things we will be able to take our eyes off our own situations and trials and troubles and focus on that which is eternal.
I challenge you today to be thankful, happy people as you live your life in 2011. Keep your eyes on Christ this year no matter what.
May it also be a year of untold potential as God pours His blessings into your life.
As we close this service I want to give you a chance to give thanks for what God has done in your life.
Listen to as many testimonies as time will allow and then close.
