Canadian Thanksgiving 2001
“Always be joyful. Keep on praying. No matter what happens, always be thankful, for this is God’s will for you who belong to Christ Jesus.” 1Thess.5:16-18 (NLT)
Comedian Billy Crystal plays the part of a bored baby boomer in a movie, who sells radio advertising time. One the day he visits his son’s school to tell about his work along with other fathers, he suddenly lets loose a deadpan monologue to the bewildered youngsters in the class:
Value this time in your life, kids, because this is the time in your life when you still have your choices. It goes by fast.
When you’re a teenager, you think you can do anything and you do. Your twenties are a blur.
Thirties you raise your family, you make a little money, and you think to yourself, "What happened to my twenties?"
Forties, you grow a little pot belly, you grow another chin. The music starts to get too loud, one of your old girlfriends from high school becomes a grandmother.
Fifties, you have a minor surgery-you’ll call it a procedure, but it’s a surgery.
Sixties, you’ll have a major surgery, the music is still loud, but it doesn’t matter because you can’t hear it anyway.
Seventies, you and the wife retire to Fort Lauderdale. You start eating dinner at 2:00 in the afternoon, you have lunch around 10:00, breakfast the night before, spend most of your time wandering around malls looking for the ultimate soft yogurt and muttering, "How come the kids don’t call? How come the kids don’t call?"
The eighties, you’ll have a major stroke, and you end up babbling with some Jamaican nurse who your wife can’t stand, but who you call mama.
Any questions?
If that’s what life is all about, it sure looks we will have a whole lot to be thankful for, right?
Andrew Carnegie, the multimillionaire, left $1 million for one of his relatives. The lucky guy, eh? But guess what he did return. He cursed Carnegie thoroughly because he had left $365 million to public charities and had cut him off with just one measly million. Now not one of here would complain, would u, if you inherited a million dollars?
I trust that today as you come together to celebrate, remember this well, that you have been given more than one million dollars as God’s child, as one who has found Jesus Christ and trusted in Him and belonging to Him. In Christ, we are millionaires, nay more than that, we are co-heirs with Him. Yes, for those of us who has received Christ in our hearts, this is what the Bible promises
Romans 8:16-17 (NKJV)
16The Spirit Himself bears witness with our spirit that we are children of God, 17and if children, then heirs—heirs of God and joint heirs with Christ, if indeed we suffer with Him, that we may also be glorified together.
Grasp the implications of that! The terrorist Mohd. Atta in his Islamic dream, dream of a heaven with virgins at his side as he pilot the plane he was on into the WTC, God promises better than that… Imagine that, all the riches of heaven that belongs to Jesus, God is saying is ours too. No don’t imagine, you can’t even begin to imagine! The Bible in 1 Cor.2:9 (NLT)says:
That is what the Scriptures mean when they say,
“No eye has seen, no ear has heard, and no mind has imagined what God has prepared for those who love him.”
Let me read again this time in NLT:
Romans 8:16-17 (NLT)
16 For his Holy Spirit speaks to us deep in our hearts and tells us that we are God’s children. 17 And since we are his children, we will share his treasures—for everything God gives to his Son, Christ, is ours, too.
for everything God gives to his Son, Christ, is ours, too!.
Think of the most incredible pleasures and riches multiply that a few million times…
Again in Ephesians 3:20 (NRSV) it is loudly proclaimed that God : “is able to accomplish abundantly far more than all we can ask or imagine.”
That is why Paul praises God in Ephesians 1:3-5 (NLT)
3 How we praise God, the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly realms because we belong to Christ. 4 Long ago, even before he made the world, God loved us and chose us in Christ to be holy and without fault in his eyes. 5 His unchanging plan has always been to adopt us into his own family by bringing us to himself through Jesus Christ. And this gave him great pleasure.
And don’t miss this out, it gives God tremendous joy to give us the best of the best, of the best! If I an earthly imperfect father can rejoice in giving my kids enjoyment, last year I spent a ton to give my kids one day at Six Flags Marine World, I do it gladly, can you begin to imagine what the perfect heavenly Father will do!
Yet in reality, few it seems know this incredible grace of our God, speaking of the fact many say there is god, or believe in God, Rom 1:21 (NIV) “For although they knew God, they neither glorified him as God, nor gave thanks to Him, but their thinking became futile (like Billy Crystal’s monologue) and their foolish hearts were darkened.” Surest way to know if you are a Christian or not is your heart’s condition, does it have exhibit A, i.e. thankfulness, a grateful heart! That’s God’s will in Christ, thanksgiving!
God comes and pours out the riches of heaven, presents us with everything, though Jesus Christ, do you see? Be not like those who do not give thanks to God
This is illustrated in Samuel Leibowitz’s story, who is a criminal lawyer and judge. You see, he saved 78 men from the electric chair. And not one ever did bother to thank him. We have been saved from the electric chair of God’s righteous judgment, but will we come and give thanks from a willing heart?
I trust that today as you come together to celebrate and give thanks that you’d remember first of all, the life you have now is precious. It is precious to God! He thought about you, long before the world was made, he said in love he created you, chose you and wants you to be family. You were never created to be alone in this planet. You were created to be in relationship with God and this gives God the biggest rush of all time!
Many years ago, as the story is told, a devout king was disturbed by the ingratitude of his royal court. He prepared a large banquet for them. When the king and his royal guests were seated, by prearrangement, a beggar shuffled into the hall, sat down at the king’s table, and gorged himself with food. Without saying a word, he then left the room. The guests were furious and asked permission to seize the tramp and tear him limb from limb for his ingratitude. The king replied, "That beggar has done only once to an earthly king what each of you does three times each day to God. You sit there at the table and eat until you area satisfied. Then you walk away without recognizing God, or
expressing one word of thanks to Him."
Isn’t this the reality?
Reminds of this story in the Bible:
11 As Jesus continued on toward Jerusalem, he reached the border between Galilee and Samaria. 12 As he entered a village there, ten lepers stood at a distance, 13 crying out, “Jesus, Master, have mercy on us!”
14 He looked at them and said, “Go show yourselves to the priests.” And as they went, their leprosy disappeared.
15 One of them, when he saw that he was healed, came back to Jesus, shouting, “Praise God, I’m healed!” 16 He fell face down on the ground at Jesus’ feet, thanking him for what he had done. This man was a Samaritan.
17 Jesus asked, “Didn’t I heal ten men? Where are the other nine? 18 Does only this foreigner return to give glory to God?” 19 And Jesus said to the man, “Stand up and go. Your faith has made you well.” Luke 17:11-19 (NLT)
Ingratitude, a complaining spirit, definitely points to spiritual immaturity. It points to the fact progress in spiritual life has not been made at all. You see, infants do not always appreciate what parents do for them. They have short memories. Their concern is not what you did for me yesterday, but what are you doing for me today. The past is meaningless and so is the future. They live for the present. I trust that as we sit here, that we are those who are mature. Who live reflective lives, that give thanks to God not only for food or the harvest, but for all that He has done, especially for the gift of eternal life. Lemme tell story bout reflection, u know the cartoon strip Peanuts:
It’s Thanksgiving Day & the aroma of roast turkey fills Charlie Brown’s house. Snoopy, outside, lying on top of his doghouse, smells that aroma, & he is thinking, “It’s Thanksgiving Day. Everybody eats turkey on Thanksgiving Day.” So he lies there, watching the back door, eagerly awaiting his Thanksgiving dinner.
Finally, the door opens & here comes Charlie Brown with a bowl of dog food, & he puts it on the ground. Snoopy gets off his house & stares at the dog food with a forlorn look on his face. And he thinks, “Just because I’m a dog, I have to eat dog food on Thanksgiving Day.”
Then the next square shows him looking at the dog food more intently, & he is thinking, “It could be worse. I could be the turkey.”
It’s a time my friends, to really count our blessings, & bow our heads in prayers of thanks to God. Thank God, you are not the turkey, you are not the one sacrificed, but that Christ sacrificed His life that we may inherit along with the riches and blessings of heaven. Praise Him for He has chosen, with his great pleasure to bless and include you into His family. Will you receive this great news and rejoice today you belong to Jesus, for if you have faith in Him, all of heaven is yours!
Until you remove your eyes from the circumstances in this life, and see that you belong to God you will never be able to lead a life of thanks, cos’ somebody else’s set of circumstances will always look better.
The story is told of two writers who were very jealous of each other, & their animosity was apparent. Then one of them wrote a book that was quite successful. In fact, it was a best seller, & he was widely acclaimed.
The two came face to face at a party, & the second man said, “I bought your book the other day. It’s a good book. Who wrote it for you?”
Shaken a bit by this, the first man nevertheless thanked him for the compliment about his book, & then asked, “Who read it to you?”
It’s not easy to be thankful when you envy others or jealous of their accomplishments.
When we start comparing ourselves with others, that can lead to discontent & envy, grumbling & broken relationships. So lift your eyes above the things, and see how God has brought you the best of the best in Christ.
Oh do we ever see it happen in the sports world. We people who could not rejoice with Rickey Henderson because he wiped out Ty Cobb’s record of the greatest numbers of runs scored this past week in MLB. Then there is a player who is making millions of dollars – has 5 cars, 2 houses, & the list goes on. He has it made. He’s happy & contented, isn’t he?
Then he discovers that someone else who plays the same kind of position he does is making more money than he makes. What’s the result? - Discontent, envy, grumbling, & broken relationships.
So that’s the problem, & it begins when we start comparing ourselves with others. If today you would lift your eyes above the circumstances, and find that Christ loves you…
Will you today choose to stop comparing. As long as you’re looking at the grass on the other side of the fence, guess what? It’s always going to look greener. You’ll always find someone who has more than you have. So stop comparing & just trust God.
God has said, “I’ll take care of you. I’ll give you what you need.” You all look pretty well fed. You all look pretty well cared for. God is taking good care of you.
There was an article entitled, “Is it better to be a jock or a nerd?”
It spoke of Michael Jordan. It was written before he retired from professional basketball, while still playing for the Chicago Bulls. But now we know he’s making a comeback with the Washington Wizards. In it, it was pointed out that Michael Jordan received about $300,000 for every game he played for the Bulls. That means that if he played 30 minutes in every game, he received $10,000 a minute for every minute he played.
Adding in the fact that he received about $40,000,000 a year for his endorsements, Michael Jordan’s total income was $178,000 per day, whether he played or not. Assuming that he slept 7 hours a night, he received $52,000 while he was counting sheep in his head. If he went to a movie, it cost him $8 to see the movie. But while he watched the movie he was making another $18,550.
If he had a 5-minute egg, he made $618 while the egg boiled. And if he decided to buy a new Acura NSX, a $90,000 automobile, he had to save up for a whole 12 hours to get it. Last year Michael Jordan made 2 times more than all the combined salaries of all the Presidents who have ever served the USA.
So how do you feel about your salary this morning? But listen to this: As highly paid as he was, Michael Jordan would have to keep on earning as much as he did last year for the next 270 years & save it all to have a net worth equal to that of Bill Gates of Microsoft. Maybe it is better to be a nerd!
Don’t start comparing, “Did I get as much as they? Did I get more or did they get more?” Be thankful for what God has given you, that you belong to Him and have all of His riches guaranteed to You as an inheritance.
B. Secondly, pray for God to bless others, the blessing of knowing God, esp. the one you envy. The word tells us to “pray w/o ceasing”! You know, it’s hard to be jealous of someone you’re praying for. And if you’re praying for them, pretty soon you’ll begin caring about them. So pray that God will bless the one that you envy.
F.B. Meyer preached in London, England, while Charles Spurgeon & G. Campbell Morgan were preaching there, too. They were all great preachers, but Spurgeon’s church & Morgan’s church were both bigger than Meyer’s church. And he admitted to being a bit envious of them.
So he prayed, asking God to tell him what to do because he was jealous of them, & he didn’t want to be jealous. And somehow God instructed him to pray for both Spurgeon & Morgan, that their churches would prosper, & that more & more people would come to them.
Well, Meyer said that he didn’t want to do that. But he thought that he had better obey the Lord. So he prayed diligently that Spurgeon’s church & Morgan’s church would grow & grow. He said, “Their churches grew so much in answer to my prayers, that they overflowed. And,” he said, “the overflow came to my church.”
So will you today make the choice, to pray for others for God’s blessing on them esp. people who rub u the wrong way. The overflow of thanks will go to God because of your prayers!
C. Thirdly, find ways to rejoice.
Lou Gehrig died in 1941 at 37 years of age. He had contracted a disease called ALS, which came to be known as “Lou Gehrig’s Disease.” For 14 years in the 1920’s & 30’s he was 1st baseman for the legendary NY Yankees. That team was perhaps one of the best teams that ever played baseball.
On June 2nd, 1941, Lou Called up Bob Considine, his friend. Just before he died he said, “Bob, I’ve got good news for you. The boys in the lab have discovered a new serum, & it is really working for 9 out of 10.” “What about you?” asked Bob. “Is it working for you, Lou?”
“Well, no, it hasn’t worked for me yet, but how about those odds – 9 out of 10?” he said. That’s rejoicing.
Two years before, Lou Gehrig stood before the Yankee faithful in Yankee Stadium to receive their applause as he left his career & the game he loved. Knowing that he was dying, he said, “Today I’m the luckiest man in the world.” His biography is entitled, “The Luckiest Man in the World.”
I don’t know if Gehrig knew God or not, but he sure is teaching us the real meaning of rejoice. IN Christ, we have all the more reason to rejoice, knowing that the day we made a profession of faith in Christ, the heavens and the angels applauded and threw a celebration party over one sinner who repented and turned to Christ.
After Abraham Lincoln was assassinated, they went through his personal things & discovered in his wallet an old newspaper clipping of a British writer who wrote that he thought Abraham Lincoln would become one of America’s great presidents, that he would be remembered in history as one of the greatest presidents of all.
Lincoln had carried that clipping in his wallet. And it had been folded & unfolded so many times that it was literally falling apart.
Can you picture Abraham Lincoln sitting by an old kerosene lamp in some corner of the White House, after a day of rebuke & criticism, reaching into his wallet & taking out that newspaper clipping & reading it again, knowing that somebody in England thinks he’ll be remembered as one of the great presidents in the history of our country? It helps in our down times when we know someone is thinking we’re just great, that’s our God, everyday, He’s beaming and enjoying what we do as we give thanks to Him for everything. As you read the Bible, think how much he thinks of you, even before the world was made he thought about you, how great you are and you will be as His child a coheir with Christ the Son!
If you take some time this Holiday to reflect on who you are as God’s beloved child, saved in arms of God & where you are in life knowing you belong to God, chances are pretty good you’ll say, “Today I’m one of God’s most blessed people. God has given me everything I really need.”
INVITATION:
Thanksgiving tradition came about through this ancient declaration given with the Pilgrims who came to North America for a better life:
"Inasmuch as the great Father has given us this year an abundant harvest of Indian corn, wheat, peas, beans, squashes and garden vegetables, and has made the forests to abound with game and the sea with fish and clams, and inasmuch as He has protected us from the ravages of the savages, has spared us from pestilence and disease, has granted us freedom to worship God according to the dictates of our own conscience.
"Now I, your magistrate, do proclaim that all ye Pilgrims, with your wives and ye little ones, do gather at ye meeting house, on ye hill, between the hours of 9 and 12 in the day time, on Thursday November 29th, of the year of our Lord one thousand six hundred and twenty-three and the third year since ye pilgrims landed on ye Pilgrim Rock, there to listen to ye pastor and render thanksgiving to ye Almighty God for all His blessings."
So we too, have come, this eve of the great celebration of thanksgiving to God, to give him thanks with all of our hearts. And what a better way to say thanks, then with these elements of communion. The bread representing the broken body of Christ, the juice, His blood.
