Are
We Thankful?
We
observe Thanksgiving once a year - Are we thankful
every
day
? What
does it mean to be thankful?
Thanks
- "An expression of gratitude. Grateful acknowledgment of
something received
by or done for one."
Note
the
order - A blessing, gratefulness, acknowledgment.
FORGETTING
- is a failure to remember or notice what God has given to us. It's
hard to be thankful & acknowledge what we don't recall.
Moses
warned Israel not to forget God as their Provider and Protector.
Deut.
8:7-ff Forgetting to worship & serve God - the result of
forgetting the
blessings of God. The consequences: to perish.
After
many generations of God's goodness...
Amos
6:1, 3-8 In Israel's wealth & ease, they forgot God.
Paul
warns of this danger and where it leads
Rom.
1:18-ff When man forgets God - look where it leads.
DISCOURAGEMENT
- Is
a distraction
from God's blessings. When
we are discouraged, our focus changes to our
self
& away from God.
Num.
21:4-6 "Then
they journeyed from Mount Hor by the way of the Red Sea, to go
around the land of Edom; and
the soul of the people became very
discouraged
on the way.
(5) And the people spoke against God and
against Moses: 'Why have you brought us up out of Egypt to die in
the wilderness? For there is no food and no water,
and our soul I
oaths
this worthless bread.'
So the Lord sent fiery serpents among the
people, and they bit the people; and many of the people of Israel died."
It's
easy to be thankful in good times
Phil.
4:6-7 "Be
anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication, with
thanksgiving,
let your requests be made known to God; (7) and
the
peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts
and minds through Christ Jesus."
MURMURING
- Is an expression of dissatisfaction
with God & His blessings It's
hard to be thankful while murmuring.
Ex.
16:1-4 Israel murmured for lack of food - God gave manna &
quail.
Num.
21:4-6 (quoted
above) Discouragement
lead to murmuring.
1
Cor. 10:1-11 Israel serves as an example of unthankfulness & a
warning to us
not to do likewise.
COVETOUSNESS
& LACK
OF CONTENTMENT
-
It's
hard to be thankful when you want more
1
Sam. 8:1-7, 19-20 Israel was not content with God's arrangement -
judges They
wanted a king like their neighbors.
Heb.
13:5 "Let
your conduct be without covetousness; be content with such things
as you have. For He Himself has said, 'I will never leave you nor
forsake you.' "
1
Tim. 6:6-7 "Now
godliness with contentment is great gain. (7) For we brought nothing
into this world, and it is certain we can carry nothing out."
HOW
CAN WE AVOID BEING UNTHANKFUL?
1. Acknowledge
God's goodness.
Psm.
100:1-ff A psalm of thanksgiving.
1. Assemble
for worship & praise -
The
Lord's supper is a reminder of the blessing of Christ's sacrifice.
1
Cor. 11:23-26 An acknowledgment
of His sacrifice & of our thankfulness.
Thanks
[eucharista]
- "Denotes gratitude, thankfulness, giving of thanks."
Note
- The Lord's supper is erroneously called the Eucharist by Catholics,
along with
their doctrine of transubstantiation, but you can see why they used
this as a
name for that memorial. The Lord's supper
is
an expression of thankfulness
2. Prayer
- where we talk to God.
Col.
4:2 "Continue
earnestly in prayer, being vigilant in it with
thanksgiving."
3. Study
God's word
- where God speaks to us.
Col.
2:6-7 "As
you therefore have received Christ Jesus the Lord, so walk in Him,
(7) rooted and built up in Him and established in the faith, as
you
have
been taught,
abounding in it with thanksgiving."
4. Be
observant - count your many blessings
Psm.
40:5 "Many,
O Lord my God, are Your wonderful works which You have done;
And Your thoughts toward us cannot be recounted to You in
order;
If I would declare and speak of them, they are more than can be numbered."
In
heaven - a place of constant thanksgiving.
Rev.
4:1-ff "You are worthy, O Lord, to receive glory and
honor and power."
INVITATION
- How thankful are we for the greatest sacrifice ever offered?
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