Genuine Thanksgiving

11/19/06

 

 

Being truly thankful, is it a word in our vocabulary or is it a genuine condition of our heart?

 

Thankfulness is a powerful tool to shift perspective. Finding something to give thanks for during a difficult situation quickly moves the perspective from the little picture to the big picture.

 

The word "appreciation" means to be thankful and express admiration, approval, or gratitude. As you appreciate life, everything becomes more valuable.

 

Mother Teresa:
“There is more hunger for love and appreciation in this world than for bread.”

 

Num. 11:4 The rabble with them began to crave other food, and again the Israelites started wailing and said, “If only we had meat to eat! ⁵We remember the fish we ate in Egypt at no cost—also the cucumbers, melons, leeks, onions and garlic. ⁶But now we have lost our appetite; we never see anything but this manna!”

 

Ungratefulness comes when our attention shifts from what we have to what we don’t have.

 

The people of Israel didn’t seem to notice what God was doing for them—setting them free, making them a nation, giving them a new land—because they were so wrapped up in what God wasn’t doing for them. They could think of nothing but the delicious Egyptian food they had left behind. Somehow they forgot that the brutal whip of Egyptian slavery was the cost of eating that food.

 

We should not allow our unfulfilled desires to cause us to forget all that God had done!

 

The people of Israel were to take the time and effort to thank God.  It was not a quick and easy task to bring an offering to the Lord.  And it had to be done in a specific way or it wasn’t accepted.

 

Lev. 22:29 “When you sacrifice a thank offering to the LORD, sacrifice it in such a way that it will be accepted on your behalf.

 

There were three kinds of fellowship offerings:  1) thanksgiving offering 2) vow offering 3) freewill offering.

 

A thanksgiving offering was offered to God when someone was deeply grateful for what God had done for them.

 

A vow offering was given in fulfillment of a vow.

 

A freewill offering needed no special reason.

 

Lev. 7:11 “‘These are the regulations for the fellowship offering a person may present to the LORD:

¹²“‘If he offers it as an expression of thankfulness, then along with this thank offering he is to offer cakes of bread made without yeast and mixed with oil, wafers made without yeast and spread with oil, and cakes of fine flour well-kneaded and mixed with oil. ¹³Along with his fellowship offering of thanksgiving he is to present an offering with cakes of bread made with yeast. ¹⁴He is to bring one of each kind as an offering, a contribution to the LORD; it belongs to the priest who sprinkles the blood of the fellowship offerings. ¹⁵The meat of his fellowship offering of thanksgiving must be eaten on the day it is offered; he must leave none of it till morning.

 

Ps. 116 is a example of being so appreciative of what the Lord has done prompting a thank offering.

 

Ps. 116:1 I love the LORD, for he heard my voice;

he heard my cry for mercy.

² Because he turned his ear to me,

I will call on him as long as I live.

³ The cords of death entangled me,

the anguish of the grave came upon me;

I was overcome by trouble and sorrow.

⁴ Then I called on the name of the LORD:

“O LORD, save me!”

⁵ The LORD is gracious and righteous;

our God is full of compassion.

⁶ The LORD protects the simple hearted;

when I was in great need, he saved me.

⁷ Be at rest once more, O my soul,

for the LORD has been good to you.

⁸ For you, O LORD, have delivered my soul from death,

my eyes from tears,

my feet from stumbling,

⁹ that I may walk before the LORD

in the land of the living.

¹⁰ I believed; therefore I said,

“I am greatly afflicted.”

¹¹ And in my dismay I said,

“All men are liars.”

¹² How can I repay the LORD

for all his goodness to me?

¹³ I will lift up the cup of salvation

and call on the name of the LORD.

¹⁴ I will fulfill my vows to the LORD

in the presence of all his people.

¹⁵ Precious in the sight of the LORD

is the death of his saints.

¹⁶ O LORD, truly I am your servant;

I am your servant, the son of your maidservant;

you have freed me from my chains.

¹⁷ I will sacrifice a thank offering to you

and call on the name of the LORD.

¹⁸ I will fulfill my vows to the LORD

in the presence of all his people,

¹⁹ in the courts of the house of the LORD—

in your midst, O Jerusalem.

Praise the LORD.

 

John W. Whitehead founder and president of the Rutherford Institute writes:

 

Some things have reached absurd proportions in this country. Increasingly, we are taking our rich, diverse cultural heritage—some of it dating back 300 years—and slowly eradicating it, all for the sake of not offending some individual or special-interest group.

 

At no time is this more evident than in the weeks leading up to Thanksgiving.

 

Examples abound. A concerned parent recently wrote that whereas a year or two ago teachers in their school district were told not to mention Christmas, Easter or anything relating to God, they cannot even mention the word “Thanksgiving” this year because “the pilgrims offended the Indians” and “Thanksgiving was never intended to be thanks to God!”

 

Another parent with children in the public schools was upset and concerned when she received a letter from school officials directing classroom mothers not to use plates and napkins with Thanksgiving printed on them at their children’s fall parties. As she recounted, “It seems like they are worried about offending just one person and are worried about law suits. In the past, this school has gone from ‘winter’ parties that banned red and green cupcakes and napkins, to banning any winter party in fear that it may be mistaken for Christmas.”

 

Several years ago, it was reported that Maryland public school students were free to thank anyone they wanted while learning about the 17th century celebration of Thanksgiving. However, they were not allowed to thank God. Instead, Maryland students read stories about the Pilgrims and Native American Indians, simulated Mayflower voyages, held mock feasts and learned about the famous meal that temporarily allied two very different groups. But teachers did not mention that in addition to thanking the Native Americans for their peaceful three-day indulgence, the Pilgrims repeatedly thanked God.

 

Clearly, those who founded our country recognized the importance of God in the life of our nation. They also understood the rightness of thanking God for his blessings. For example, it was George Washington who, on October 3, 1789, issued the first Thanksgiving proclamation. In Washington’s words, Americans were to set aside “a day of public thanksgiving and prayer to be observed by acknowledging with grateful hearts the many signal favors of Almighty God.”

 

So how did we get to the point where the mere mention of God is enough to send some of our fellow citizens into a tailspin—to such an extent that they are now trying to take the “thanks” out of Thanksgiving?

 

Part of the answer lies in our politically correct society. We have allowed ourselves to become controlled by our fears. Rather than risk offending someone, we would sooner toss our rich history and traditions on the pyre of political correctness. But such an approach is destined for failure. Indeed, even if you breathe, you are sure to offend someone. What is the result? We gain nothing. We water down and suck the life out of what once gave meaning and direction to our lives. In the end, our children will be the ones who lose out, left with little clue as to where they came from or where they may be going in life.

 

 

We have also lost our sense of reverence. Too many Americans have little, if any, gratitude for the liberty and material comforts we enjoy—both of which were made possible through great sacrifice. Heedless of our many blessings, as a nation, we are tempting fate.

 

Indeed, the United States is now at the pinnacle of its power, not unlike England of 1897. At that point in time, England was riding high. But as professor Paul Woodruff recognizes in his book Reverence: “It would be less than twenty years before England began bleeding away its young men in Flanders, and the long slow irreversible march began to the loss of empire.”

 

It was also during this time that Rudyard Kipling wrote the poem “Recessional.” It is a pointed reminder that power leads to arrogance and arrogance to a fall:

 

The tumult and the shouting dies
The captain and the kings depart:
Still stands Thine ancient sacrifice,
An humble and a contrite heart.
If drunk with sight of power, we loose
Wild tongues that have not Thee in awe,
Lord God of Hosts, be with us yet,
Lest we forget—lest we forget!

 

What is it that we must not forget?

 

We must not forget that we are mortal. We are born, and we die. And in between, as Washington opines in that first Thanksgiving proclamation, we must not forget “to acknowledge the providence of the Almighty,” “obey his will,” “be grateful for his benefits, and humbly to implore his protection and favor.”

 

One of the first marks of rejecting God is forgetting to thank him.

 

Deut. 8:10 When you have eaten and are satisfied, praise the LORD your God for the good land he has given you. ¹¹Be careful that you do not forget the LORD your God, failing to observe his commands, his laws and his decrees that I am giving you this day. ¹²Otherwise, when you eat and are satisfied, when you build fine houses and settle down, ¹³and when your herds and flocks grow large and your silver and gold increase and all you have is multiplied, ¹⁴then your heart will become proud and you will forget the LORD your God, who brought you out of Egypt, out of the land of slavery. ¹⁵He led you through the vast and dreadful desert, that thirsty and waterless land, with its venomous snakes and scorpions. He brought you water out of hard rock. ¹⁶He gave you manna to eat in the desert, something your fathers had never known, to humble and to test you so that in the end it might go well with you. ¹⁷You may say to yourself, “My power and the strength of my hands have produced this wealth for me.” ¹⁸But remember the LORD your God, for it is he who gives you the ability to produce wealth, and so confirms his covenant, which he swore to your forefathers, as it is today.

 

¹⁹If you ever forget the LORD your God and follow other gods and worship and bow down to them, I testify against you today that you will surely be destroyed. ²⁰Like the nations the LORD destroyed before you, so you will be destroyed for not obeying the LORD your God.

 

A person’s true heart is not seen by what he asks of God but how he is thankful to God.

 

Lk. 17:11 Now on his way to Jerusalem, Jesus traveled along the border between Samaria and Galilee. ¹²As he was going into a village, ten men who had leprosy met him. They stood at a distance ¹³and called out in a loud voice, “Jesus, Master, have pity on us!”

¹⁴When he saw them, he said, “Go, show yourselves to the priests.” And as they went, they were cleansed.

¹⁵One of them, when he saw he was healed, came back, praising God in a loud voice. ¹⁶He threw himself at Jesus’ feet and thanked him—and he was a Samaritan.

¹⁷Jesus asked, “Were not all ten cleansed? Where are the other nine? ¹⁸Was no one found to return and give praise to God except this foreigner?” ¹⁹Then he said to him, “Rise and go; your faith has made you well.”

 

How would you answer these questions?

 

When bad things happen, do you tend to blame God or draw closer to Him.

Would you characterize the friends you have as mostly positive or negative people?

How does their attitude affect you when you are with them?

Do you acknowledge your blessings as much as the bad things that happen. In other words, do you tell others about the blessings in your life as much as you broadcast when things go wrong?

When you were growing up, were your family and friends positive or negative people? Did you change your outlook because of them or did you remain the same?

Are you a thermometer or a thermostat? Do you allow others to determine your moods or are you proactive and set the mood of those around you?

If you put a percentage on the time you spend complaining or being thankful, what number would that be?

When you die, will others remember you as a thankful person?

Do you look for things to be thankful about or do they have to be called to your attention by others?

Are you thankful only when things are going well or do you look for blessings even when bad things happen?

Is there someone you admire who is a thankful person?

Do you equate thankfulness with contentment.

Are you passing along your thankful attitude to your family and others as your legacy?

Is your life something people admire?

Do you need someone else to make you happy or are you already happy within yourself?

Is Thanksgiving the only time during the year you think about your blessings or do you have a lifestyle of thankfulness?

I want to present an invitation this morning for you to bring an offering of genuine thanksgiving before the Lord.