The Nature Of Thankfulness

INTRODUCTION

-ILL: Thanksgiving Prayer

One Thanksgiving season a family was seated around their table, looking at the annual holiday bird. From the oldest to the youngest, they were to express their praise. When they came to the 5-year-old in the family, he began by looking at the turkey and expressing his thanks to the turkey, saying although he had not tasted it he knew it would be good. After that rather novel expression of thanksgiving, he began with a more predictable line of credits, thanking his mother for cooking the turkey and his father for buying the turkey. But then he went beyond that. He joined together a whole hidden multitude of benefactors, linking them with cause and effect. He said, "I thank you for the checker at the grocery store who checked out the turkey. I thank you for the grocery store people who put it on the shelf. I thank you for the farmer who made it fat. I thank you for the man who made the feed. I thank you for those who brought the turkey to the store." Using his Columbo-like little mind, he traced the turkey all the way from its origin to his plate. And then at the end he solemnly said "Did I leave anybody out?"

His 2-year-older brother, embarrassed by all those proceedings, said, "God." Solemnly and without being flustered at all, the 5-year-old said, "I was about to get to him."

-This week we celebrate another Thanksgiving

-A day of food, family and football

-And after that, the mad 5AM dash to the stores for those elusive bargains for things we really probably don’t need

-Now, I’m sure this morning I do not need to remind you of the first Thanksgiving and what this day really means

-But, I do think that sometimes we are like the boy

-We fail to be thankful for the most important thing in our lives; God Himself

-You see, truly no blessing we have would be there if it weren’t for Him and His great grace towards us

-So, this morning I am issuing a call to thankfulness towards the Lord

-But, in particular, I want to look at the nature of that thankfulness

-What does it look like

-How is it expressed

-To assist us, let’s look at a passage from the OT

-I Chronicles 16:1-36

-In this passage we see 7 distinct things about the nature of our expression of thankfulness to the Lord for all that He has done for us

I. Call On His Name (vs. 8)

-This is giving God an invitation to the praise-fest you are throwing in His honor

A. Give Him a seat at your table of praise

-As the guest of honor

-ILL: Banquet Seating / Celebrity Roast

B. Give Him a seat at your table of need

-Do you realize that making your requests known to God can be a way of showing Him thankfulness

-Although it can be a sign of ingratitude

-ILL: Never-ending Christmas List

1. It shows thanks for past needs met

2. It shows trust for current or future needs to be met

II. Make His Deeds Known (vs. 8)

-This is the refusal to keep the good news of what He has done bottled up

-ILL: Flat Soda

A. Talk of all His wondrous works (vs. 9)

1. In the past

2. In the present

-Some people’s testimonies are so stale

-They only speak of what God did back there

B. Proclaim the good news of His salvation (vs. 23)

-Daily

-This is simple evangelism

-This is what we should be the most thankful for

C. Declare His glory among the nations (vs. 24)

-This goes beyond telling what He has done to telling about who He is; His character

-His character is even greater than His actions

-It is what causes Him to act the way He does

III. Sing Songs To Him (vs. 9, 23)

-We live in a very musically driven society

-You cannot hardly go anywhere without hearing music

-Homes

-Cars

-Stores

-Elevators

-Music is a multi-billion dollar industry

-The recording artists companies

-Satellite radio

-Ipods and other MP3 devices

-Most people’s ears are inundated by music a great portion of the day

-As a result, we know many songs

-Some consciously, some subconsciously

-Yet how many songs about our Savior do you know?

-Most people know very few

-Yet, music can be a vital component to a Christian’s spiritual life

-Even a whole book of the Bible is a book of songs about the Lord

-And most are designed to be sung to the Lord

IV. Let Your Heart Rejoice (vs. 10)

-I’ve seen some people do some rather unusual things when they were in the midst of rejoicing some circumstance

-ILL: The Price Is Right