The mother immediately said, “What do you say to the nice man who gave you a piece of candy?” The little boy seemed somewhat puzzled as to what she wanted him to say, but suddenly a smile came on his face, as if he finally realized what she wanted him to say, and he said, “Can I have some more?”
The way this little child reacted to the kindness of the man seems to be a reaction today that we often see in our society. We live in a society that is truly ungrateful. The fact is, we all probably should get on our knees and asked God to forgive us for our ingratitude.
WHAT HAS CAUSED THIS INGRATITUDE IN OUR NATION?
One cause is the politicians who promise to give people all kinds of things they want, to get them to vote them into office. Campaigning today by these politicians seems to be a contest to see who can give the most away to get in office. But that creates another problem - with all this giving, someone has to pay for it.
Illus: Margaret Thatcher said, “The problem with socialism is that you eventually run out of other people's money.”
Well, our nation has run out of other people’s money, but we still have those who feel they are entitled to more.
One of the best ways to destroy…
• A child is to give him everything he wants, making him think he is entitled to everything he receives.
• A nation is to give them everything they want, making them think they are entitled to everything they receive.
• A Christian is to give him everything he wants making him think he is entitled to everything he receives.
Illus: I like what Abraham Lincoln said; “You have to do your own growing no matter how tall your grandfather was.”
In a nation of entitlements as ours has become, instead of being grateful for what they receive, people feel they are entitled to receive what they receive and much more! They are holding out their UNGRATEFUL hands, and they will take anything and everything that you put in them.
WHAT IS AN ENTITLEMENT? Let me tell you what an entitlement is not. Social Security is not an entitlement. Those who are 65 years old and older who receive Social Security, had to put their hard-earned money into it and they expect to receive it back.
But today, we have people who have not made any kind of investment in any way in any public fund, and they feel they are entitled to be receiving all kinds of benefits. The least they could do on “Thanksgiving Day” is to send all the hard working taxpayers ‘THANK YOU’ NOTES.
There are so many things we should be thankful for, such as, we should …
I. BE THANKFUL FOR OUR FAITH
Illus: Suppose you were a child living in a third world country. All you had was the clothes on your back and you were so hungry that you ate bugs to survive.
• Suppose some rich person came to where you lived and adopted you as his child
• Suppose he helped you to live a life you never knew existed before. Wouldn’t you be grateful?
That is exactly what God did for us. We were poor, hungry and spiritually naked, but the Lord Jesus took us and made us a child of His.
HOW DID WE BECOME A CHILD OF GOD? By faith in Jesus Christ, God’s Son; by receiving Him as Savior - that makes us A CHILD OF GOD.
Hebrews chapter 11 is known as the FAITH CHAPTER. All of the great men and women listed in this chapter are listed there because of their FAITH in the God of this Bible.
WHAT DOES OUR FAITH DO FOR US? Our faith does many things, but let me show you three things. Our faith is…
1. A CHANGING FAITH
All who accepted the Lord Jesus Christ as Savior became NEW CREATURES in Christ Jesus.
Look at 2 Corinthians 5:17, we read, “Therefore if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature: old things are passed away; behold, all things are become new.”
Listen, I am not, nor are you the same person you used to be. As Christians we are not perfect, but thank God we are not what we used to be. By faith we all have been made NEW CREATURES!
The moment we placed our FAITH in Christ Jesus and accepted the Lord as our Savior, the Bible tells us “…old things are passed away; behold, all things are become new.”
• Before we gave our hearts to the Lord, we used to make excuses for why we could not come to church
• Before we gave our hearts to the Lord, our money was our money and we never gave God the tithes that belonged to Him
• Before we gave our hearts to the Lord, we would never talk to people about the Lord Jesus
• Before we gave our hearts to the Lord, we would never read the Bible or pray over a meal
• Before we gave our hearts to the Lord, we served the gods of this world
But our FAITH made us a NEW CREATURE and now we do all these things with GREAT DELIGHT.
Because of our FAITH,
• The sinful things we once enjoyed, we no longer enjoy, and…
• The things we didn’t enjoy, all of a sudden we now enjoy.
Each person who has accepted Jesus as Savior is now a NEW CREATURE in Christ Jesus. Again, all this occurred in our life because of our FAITH IN CHRIST.
We should be THANKFUL FOR OUR FAITH. It is truly A CHANGING FAITH. Our faith is also …
2. A CHARTING FAITH
Our faith not only has CHANGED OUR LIFE, it also CHARTS OUR LIFE.
Illus: Many of us remember when we were in high school and the guidance counselors called us into the office. We did not know what to expect, but they had us sit down before them and they asked us, “WHAT DO YOU PLAN TO DO WITH YOUR LIFE?” And many of us, if not most of us, looked them in the eye and said, “I DON’T KNOW!”
Now that is alright for a high school student. Many, even as they go to college, do not know what they are going to do with their lives. But there should be a time when an adult recognizes that God had a purpose in creating him and putting him here on earth for so many years.
But did you know that many go through life and still do not KNOW WHAT TO DO WITH THEIR LIFE? They know that if they wake up tomorrow they plan to eat, go to work, talk to people they come into contact with, watch some television programs and at a certain time they will go to sleep again. They live their life like this year after year! They live their life WITHOUT A PLAN.
Illus: Suppose a ship is out to sea floating around. Suppose you ride out and get on board and you talk to the captain of that ship and you ask him where he is going. Suppose he says, “I really do not have any plans, I guess I will go where the wind and the waves take me.” Now wouldn’t you think that would be a foolish captain? He has a big beautiful ship and there are so many places to go and things he could do, but he just goes where the wind and waves take him.
Well, that is how foolish that a lot of folks are. They have a big beautiful life they could do something with, but they just drift around from day to day. The reason today that so many have messed their lives up is because they do not have a faith to CHART which way they are to go through life.
Because of that …
• Many go through life guessing, hoping they are doing the right thing.
• Many go through life doing what everyone else is doing.
• Many go through life depending on fortune tellers to tell them what they should do.
• Many go through life listening to the advice of people who are as confused as they are.
God has charted out every day of the lives of all who have been saved by placing our FAITH in Christ.
• Some days His Word tells them to FORSAKE NOT THE ASSEMBLING OF OURSELVES IN THE HOUSE OF GOD.
• Some days His Word tells them to BRING ALL GOD’S TITHES AND OFFERINGS INTO THE HOUSE OF GOD.
• Some days God’s Word tells them to VISIT THE SICK, WIDOWS AND ORPHANS.
• Some days God’s Word tells them to DO GOOD DEEDS and HELP THE NEEDY.
The point I am making is that our FAITH has CHARTED OUR LIFE EVERY DAY. As Christians we do not live a selfish wasted life; our FAITH has charted our path.
Sinners go through life making one big mistake after another, but, we have a faith that is based on the Word of God, and it charts out the direction we should go, in every area of our lives.
3. A CHALLENGING FAITH
One thing that thrills people about sports is the challenge it provides. Many enter the field of sports and they do things they never dreamed they would be able to do.
But the most challenging thing on the face of the earth is our FAITH.
• There are people who are so bashful they would never speak before a class, but now they are preaching before thousands.
• There are people who would never pray in public, but now they pray frequently in public.
• There are people who have never been leaders, but now they are leading and teaching a Sunday school class.
• There are people who never won anyone to Christ, but now their faith has been challenged, and they are winning hundreds to the Lord Jesus.
We have A CHALLENGING FAITH.
We should BE THANKFUL FOR OUR FAITH and . . .
II. BE THANKFUL FOR OUR FRIENDS
Illus: An old Puritan, Charles Bridges, said, “If you have found one friend in a lifetime, you have found a great treasure.”
We all have lots of acquaintances, but we do not have lots of friends. I wish it was true that we all could say we have lots of friends. We probably can count all of our real friends on one hand and have a number of fingers left over.
WHY DO I SAY THAT? Look at Proverbs 17:17. We read, “A friend loveth at all times…”
There are people who we call our friends, and as long as things go the way they like them to go, they will be our friends. But the moment that things do not go the way they like them to go, they are no longer our friends.
There are some folks that we call “Sunshine Friends.” When the sun is shining and things are going great, they are right there beside you. But when the dark clouds hang over our life, they will abandon us like a rat on a sinking ship.
But some of us have TRUE FRIENDS. Again the Bible says, “A friend loveth at all times….”
We should be thankful unto the Lord for our TRUE FRIENDS! They are our friends today and they will be our friends tomorrow.
We should BE THANKFUL FOR OUR FAITH, BE THANKFUL FOR OUR FRIENDS and . . .
III. BE THANKFUL FOR OUR FOES
Preacher, I am thankful for my FAITH, and for my FRIENDS, but I could never be thankful for my FOES. Well, did you know that our foes can keep us sharp, and on our toes?
Illus: When a boxer is training for a fight, the worst thing he can do is to box with someone who is “under” him, when it comes to the level of skill. If he is boxing with someone who is under him, he will get careless, and drop his guard. But when he is boxing with someone with greater skill, he knows he cannot get careless and drop his guard because his opposition will take full advantage of him.
The same thing goes for us as believers. If we were constantly surrounded by friends who love us and forgive us for our short-comings, we would lower our guard. But we know our enemies are looking for a chance to take advantage of us. We cannot and must not drop our guard.
We tend to seek God and draw close to Him, when we are surrounded by our enemies. We should be thankful to the Lord for our FOES.
We should BE THANKFUL FOR OUR FAITH, BE THANKFUL FOR OUR FRIENDS, BE THANKFUL FOR OUR FOES and . . .
IV. BE THANKFUL FOR OUR FAMILY
The one thing in life that we take for granted more than anything else is our family.
Illus: One of the saddest things in this life, is to be at the funeral home, with a family standing beside the casket of a loved one, and family members crying -
• “I never told them I loved them.”
• “I never hugged them.”
• “I was always too busy to visit them.”
This is one of the saddest things that can happen.
But there is one thing even worse than this, and that is a person who stands beside the casket of a loved one asking for forgiveness, knowing that loved one cannot hear them.
• If you are going to show love to a loved one, the time to do it is while that loved one is living.
• If you are going to visit a loved one, the time to do it is while that one is alive, because it does them no good when you stand beside that grave.
• If you are going to say nice things to a loved one, the time to do it is while they can hear you.
We should be thankful to the Lord for our FAMILIES, because there will be a day we will not have them to enjoy. Then, all of a sudden, those things that you always considered to be so important will no longer be important. You will recognize how foolish you have been to put those things before your family.
We should BE THANKFUL FOR OUR FAITH, BE THANKFUL FOR OUR FRIENDS, BE THANKFUL FOR OUR FOES, BE THANKFUL FOR OUR FAMILY and . . .
V. BE THANKFUL FOR OUR FORTRESS
In Psalm 91:2, we read, “I will say of the LORD, He is my refuge and my fortress: my God; in him will I trust.”
David is saying, “I know one thing, I know the Lord, HE IS MY REFUGE and my FORTRESS….”
• When some people have a problem, they run to the liquor store.
• When some people have a problem, they run to the medicine cabinet to grab a pill.
But David said, “God is:
• MY REFUGE
• MY FORTRESS
• MY GOD
…IN HIM WILL I TRUST. “
Conclusion:
We have so much to be thankful for. 2 Samuel 22:50, describes my feelings of thankfulness. It says, “Therefore I will give thanks unto thee, 0 LORD, among the heathen, and I will sing praises unto thy name."
Can you say that? Do you know this Lord Jesus who has provided a way for you to be in Heaven for eternity? If not, come to Him now. Then you can join in.
I. BE THANKFUL FOR OUR FAITH
II. BE THANKFUL FOR OUR FRIENDS
III. BE THANKFUL FOR OUR FOES
IV. BE THANKFUL FOR OUR FAMILIES
V. BE THANKFUL FOR OUR FORTRESS
